US military forces carried out a targeted airstrike against Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, killing a top leader, according to reports.
Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon's press secretary, said in a statement late Monday only that "we are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate."
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, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, otherwise known as Ahmed Abdi Godane, believed to have been the target.
Zubeyr - 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: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1x40wjz
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