Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) — A suspected U.S. drone strike targeted senior leaders of Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, but it’s not clear if the leader of the Islamic militant group was wounded or killed, a Somali official said Tuesday.
The Pentagon would only say it carried out an operation in Somalia, but didn’t offer additional details.
The strike Monday took place near the port city of Barawe, Al-Shabaab’s biggest stronghold in Somalia, said Abdikadir Mohamed Nur Sidii, governor of Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region.
“I never heard such a huge and deafening blast as the result of the airstrike,” Sidii said. “It jolted the entire region.”
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Top Al-Shabaab commanders had been meeting in the area on how to stave off a joint offensive by Somali and African Union troops aimed at dislodging them from their nearby strongholds, the governor said.
He said those commanders included leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and his deputy Abu Abdalla.
“We can’t confirm how many leaders were killed in the attack,” he said. “We will confirm later.”
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Categories: Africa, Americas, Somalia, Terrorism, United States
To successfully decimate the terrorist hierarchy will be a welcome development.
Every human life has infinite value. The Muslim Times condemns every terrorist organization, which uses innocent lives as pawns for their political gains and agendas.