Al Shabaab Leader Killed in US Air Strike in Mogadishu

Mogadishu: A leader of the Somali militant group al Shabaab was killed by a US air strike in Somalia, US and Somali officials said today.

The victim, identified as Abdishakur and also known as Tahliil, was the head of Amniyat, a unit blamed for suicide attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency said in a statement.

The US Defense Department said on Monday it had launched an air strike in Somalia that targeted a senior al Shabaab leader.

Two US officials familiar with the matter confirmed that Abdishakur was the target of the US air strike, and one said Abdishakur was killed in the attack.

The al-Qaeda-aligned al-Shabaab is seeking to topple the Western-backed Mogadishu government and impose its own strict version of Islamic law in the country. A spokesman for the group could not be reached for comment.