A woman was shot dead in Mogadishu, the Somali capital on Sunday night by gunmen believed to be Al Shabaab assassins, in what appeared to be an apparent assassination.

A witness, speaking to Radio Shabelle by phone said the woman was critically wounded in the attack which occurred at Cinema Abdi Wayel area in the capital’s Heliwa district.

She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where succumbed to her injuries on the way to the medical center. The killers have fled the crime scene before the arrival of the local Police.

The motive behind the murder of the woman, who was women’s rights activist is yet unclear and no group has so far claimed responsibility for her killing.

Mogadishu has witnessed series of targeted assassinations and car bomb attacks in the past few weeks amid deepening political crisis in the country.