Top Kenyan Muslim preacher shot dead

Gunmen on Tuesday shot dead an influential Kenyan moderate Muslim preacher in the port city of Mombasa, a vocal opponent of the radical preachings of Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab insurgents, police said.

Mohamed Idris, chairperson of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, was "shot only once in the stomach" shortly before dawn as he headed to prayers at a mosque, Mombasa police chief Robert Kitur said.