Unknown gunmen have shot and killed a Somalia journalist in the capital Mogadishu in the latest of a string of fatal attacks targeting members of media in the country.

The journalist, Mohamed Ibrahim Rageh, worked for state television and Radio Mogadishu and was on his way home from work when he was attacked, the nation's journalism union said in a statement on Sunday, AFP reported.

"The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) condemns in the strongest terms possible the murder of the Somali journalist who was killed by armed assailants near his home in Mogadishu's Dharkenley district," the union said.


No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killing. The incident brings the number of journalists killed in the war-ravaged capital so far this year to four.

The lawless Horn of Africa nation is one of the most dangerous places for journalists to work. At least 18 media workers were killed in 2012 in Somalia, mostly in targeted killings.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab for the past five years and is propped up by a 10,000-strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, and Djibouti.