Alleged Shebab Members Executed in Somali Capital

Two alleged members of Somalia's Shebab militia convicted of murdering a female student were executed by firing squad in the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, an AFP reporter witnessed.

"These two defendants were found guilty of murdering student Nafiso Ahmed in April," supreme military court chief judge Liban Ali Yarow said.

"They took an appeal from the ruling late last month, which the court rejected. The court ordered their execution today."

Senior Somali military officials and the relatives of the female victim watched as the two convicted killers, Hassan Salman and Shafici Abdi, were tied to posts and shot at the Somali police academy in Mogadishu. Their heads were covered by cloth bags.

Officials said the two had confessed to killing the student in April because she worked for an NGO. As alleged Shebab members, they were tried by a military court.

Amnesty International says Somalia's internationally-backed government carried out 15 executions in 2013, while the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland carried out 19.