Riots in Kenya after Muslim cleric killed

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Gunmen in the coastal city of Mombasa shot dead Monday a Muslim cleric accused by Washington and the UN of supporting al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia, sparking rioting by youths. One person died and a police car was burned.

The killing of Aboud Rogo fits a pattern of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of suspected terrorists that is allegedly being orchestrated by the police, Kenyan human rights groups say.

Rogo was shot as he drove with his family in Mombasa, his lawyer, Mbugua Mureithi, told The Associated Press. Rogo's wife was wounded in the leg, said his father, who was also in the car, along with Rogo's 5-year-old daughter. He and the girl weren't injured.

At the scene, Rogo's wife angrily accused police of the murder. "It is you policemen who have killed him; we don't want a post-mortem or any help from you," said Khaniya Said Sagar to officers who came to assist her. Khaniya said she was being taken to a hospital for a checkup after she had a miscarriage two weeks ago.

The killing quickly sparked protests by hundreds of Muslim youths, who went on a rampage on the streets of Mombasa as his body was being taken for burial.

Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe and his deputy Charles Owino did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Rogo faced charges of membership in al-Shabab, the Somali rebel group that is linked to al-Qaida. He is accused of being part of a terror cell whose other members include Briton Samantha Lewthwaite, said to be on the run. She is the widow of Jermaine Lindsay, one of the suicide bombers who killed 52 commuters on London's transport system on July 7, 2005.