US military forces carried out an operation against Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, killing a top leader, according to reports.
“We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate,” Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said in a statement.
However US officials told NBC News that a military drone launched Hellfire missiles at at least two vehicles in a remote area of southern Somalia, with al-Shabaab’s top leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, believed to have been the target.
Godane – the leader of the al-Shabaab Islamist movement – is believed to be behind last year’s Nairobi mall attack in which 67 people were killed.
It come a day after al-Shabaab rebels carried out a car bomb and gun attack against an intelligence headquarters in central Mogadishu, leaving at least seven militants and five others dead.
Al-Shabaab rebels have targeted key areas of the Somali government or the security forces in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities – who are backed by the African Union’s 22,000-strong AMISOM force – that they are winning the war against the Islamist fighters.
The Shabaab are fighting to topple Somalia’s internationally-backed government, and regularly launch attacks against state targets, as well as in neighboring countries that contribute to the AU force.
Source: The telegraph
