Suspected Islamic gunmen in Mombasa on Tuesday shot dead a prominent Muslim preacher, Mohamed Idris, 64, who was seen by Muslims and all world leaders as an opponent to radical Muslim teachings of Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.   Mohamed Idris was the chairman of the Council of Imams in Kenya. He was shot in the stomach while he was heading for prayers at Mombasa mosque.

The Kenyan police commander in charge of Mombasa Robert Kitur describes the incidence as Mombasa County a drive-by shooting. He says the people who killed Sheikh Idris are unknown. But investigations show that he could have been killed by Somalia‘s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents. Late Idris was the chairman of Mombasa mosque that was recently taken over by radical youths.

The killing of Muslim preachers is so common in Kenya. In April, prominent hardline Muslim cleric Abubaker Shariff Ahmed was shot dead. Sheikh Ahmed was a supporter of late Osama bin Laden and terrorists. In August 2012, another Muslim preacher Aboud Rogo Mohammed was gunned down, and in October 2013 his successor, Sheikh Ibrahim Ismail, was also killed near Mombasa. Idris is survived by four wives and 25 children.

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