Radical preacher gunned down in Kenya

Gunmen opened fire on a car in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, killing four people, including a radical Muslim cleric, a media report said on Friday.

The cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Ismail, was seen as the successor to Aboud Rogo Mohammed, a radical preacher who was gunned down in August last year, sparking unrest in Mombasa, including attacks on churches.

Rogo was on US and UN sanctions lists for his alleged links to the al-Qaeda and the Somali militant group al-Shabab.

The Nation newspaper quoted police as saying Ismail and four others were travelling in a car from a mosque on Thursday evening when the incident took place. Only one passenger survived the attack.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on the Westgate shopping centre, which left at least 72 people dead, including 61 civilians, six soldiers and five assailants. Investigations into the attack are ongoing.