US drone strike kills key Al Shabaab leader

Mogadishu, March 13: A senior Al Shabaab intelligence commander is suspected to have been killed in a drone strike by the US in south Somalia, local authorities said. Mohamed Ali, a district commissioner in Garbaharey town, said the drone strike on Thursday evening hit two vehicles carrying three senior Al Shabaab commanders to Gedo region along the Somalia-Kenya border, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The strike was targeting one of the senior intelligence commanders, Aden Garar and his team,” said Ali. Residents in the area said they heard huge explosions. Witnesses said the two vehicles were completely destroyed.

The strike happened a few hours after the Al Shabaab launched an attack at a regiol administration headquarters in central Somalia, killing 10 people and injuring scores of others. The US has carried out a number of airstrikes targeting the militant group and killed some of its top leaders. The Al Qaeda-linked group has not commented on the matter and neither the government in Mogadishu. (IANS)