Italian Doctor Killed In Somalia

Gunmen killed an Italian doctor and wounded her colleague Sunday at a Roman Catholic clinic in Somalia, Italian news reports said.

The motive for the attack in Merca, a small port city about 60 miles south of Mogadishu, was not clear.

But Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vincenzo Pedrone said the clinic was in a particularly dangerous area. In addition, Somali factions are fighting for control of ports and airports, so they can tax ships and planes.

Italian officials identified the dead doctor as Graziella Fumagalli, who worked for the Italian religious organization Caritas.