Member of Somali rebel group al-Shabab killed by U.S. military missile strike

Monday, January 27, 2014

Member of Somali rebel group al-Shabab killed by U.S. military missile strike

Afgoye and Mogadishu, Somalia

Somali Militant Killed in Drone Attack : VOA

.....

U.S. missile strike targets suspected militant leader in Somalia

By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News

The U.S. military carried out a missile strike in Somalia on Sunday, targeting a suspected militant leader with links to the al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab terror groups, U.S. military officials told NBC News.
U.S. military and intelligence officials are reviewing bomb damage assessment to determine if the terror leader was killed or wounded in the strike.
The officials would not yet identify the target of the strike.
The al-Shabaab group — which the State Department designates as a terrorist organization — is a loosely affiliated band of militia insurgents in southern Somalia that has close ties to the al-Qaeda terror network.
At least two senior al-Shabaab rebels, including the group’s leading explosives expert, were killed in a military strike last October.
Read More Here
.....

Somali Militant Killed in Missile Attack

MOGADISHU, Somalia January 26, 2014 (AP)

By ABDI GULED Associated Press

A member of Somali rebel group al-Shabab was killed Sunday by a missile fired by a suspected drone, a rebel commander said, blaming the U.S. for the strike.

Abu Mohamed told The Associated Press that Sahal Iskudhuq, a militant commander who was believed to be close to al-Shabab's top leader, was killed when his car was hit by a missile in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region. The attack took place in a village called Hawai, he said.

A Somali intelligence official confirmed the attack, describing the victim as a "dangerous" militant. His driver was also killed in the attack, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to reveal the information.

Mohamed blamed the attack on the U.S., which flies drones over Somalia that occasionally fire at one of al-Shabab's top leaders.

Two U.S. military officials confirm that there was a missile strike against a senior al-Shabab leader in Somalia today. The officials wouldn't identify the target of the strike, and one of the officials said U.S. intelligence is still "assessing the effectiveness of the strike."