Somalia: Ahmed Godane al-Shabaab leader killed in a airstrike
The US military has killed the leader of an al-Qaida-linked Islamic group in a Somalia airstrike, the Pentagon announced Friday.
“We have confirmed that Ahmed Godane, the co-founder of al-Shabaab, has been killed,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement. “The U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which led to his death. Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to al-Shabaab. The United States works in coordination with its friends, allies and partners to counter the regional and global threats posed by violent extremist organizations.”
Godane has claimed that al-Shabaab was responsible for last year’s attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in which at least 67 people are reported to have been killed.