A senior Somali military commander, Lt. Colonel Nuur Farey, was gunned down on Saturday while addressing his troops in the Lower Shabelle region.
The attack took place in Afgoye, approximately 30 kilometers southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.
According to regional security official Bulle Ali, the attacker, believed to be an infiltrator linked to the militant group al-Shabaab, shot Lt. Colonel Farey during a routine inspection of soldiers.
The assailant was swiftly apprehended by the military, and an investigation is now underway.
Farey served as the commander of the 14th October Brigade, a unit named after the victims of the 2017 truck bombing in Mogadishu, which killed 587 people.
His brigade has been at the forefront of operations to reclaim territories from al-Shabaab in Lower Shabelle.
The death of Lt. Colonel Farey has been met with sorrow across the nation.
Brig. Gen. Abdullahi Ahmed Sheikh, former special forces commander, expressed condolences, calling it a tragic loss for the Somali Armed Forces and the country.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the killing, but the attack follows a pattern of al-Shabaab-related violence in the region.
Last November, a similar incident occurred in Mogadishu, when Emirati and Bahraini military officers were killed by an al-Shabaab infiltrator.
The Somali government has vowed to continue its efforts to rid the region of militant influence despite the growing threats.