MOGADISHU, Somalia - A witness says gunmen have severely wounded one of Somalia's senior United Nations officials.

Hassan Ali says the attack came as Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the UN Development Program for Somalia, was leaving a mosque in Mogadishu, the country's capital.

Ali says the attack also wounded Ahmed's son and another man.

Ali, who is a neighbour of Ahmed's, says the UN official was covered in blood and unconscious as he was rushed to a hospital after the shooting.

Targeted assassinations of officials are common in Somalia, where Islamic insurgents have vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency against the weak and corrupt UN-supported government.

The shooting occurred a day after an explosion killed a Somali official, his wife and four others in Mogadishu.

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