MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 23 (UPI) -- The Islamist militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for killing Somali member of Parliament Saado Ali Warsame.
She was targeted, al-Shabaab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told the BBC, because of her politics and not her singing.
In addition to being a lawmaker, Warsame was also a well known folk singer.
Militants killed her and a bodyguard in a drive-by shooting in Mogadishu on Wednesday.
As a performer, Warsame gained fame through her political songs that criticized then-Somali President Siad Barre, who was deposed in 1991.
She returned to Somalia in 2012 to take a position in Parliament as a representative of her clan. Prior to her appointment, she spent a significant amount of time in the United States.
