Authorities in Mogadishu say unidentified gunmen have shot dead a Somali lawmaker as he left a mosque in the capital on Saturday.

Colleagues and witnesses say Mustafa Mohamed Abdullahi was shot several times and died enroute to a local hospital. The gunmen escaped. There has been no claim of responsibility.

The lawmaker was identified as the father-in-law of former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who left office earlier this month. His successor, incoming President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, escaped injury September 12, after three suicide bombers targeted a Mogadishu hotel where he was speaking.

The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for that attack, and for a double suicide attack Thursday that killed at least 15 people at an upscale Mogadishu restaurant.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab controlled part of the capital until last year, when it was driven out by Somali and African Union forces. But the militants continue to launch assaults in the city, using hit-and-run tactics.