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Somali militant said to be targeted in U.S. airstrike

Four senior members of al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked terror group in Somalia, were killed in the strike, including the architect of the university attack, Mohamed Mohamud, Agence France Presse reports.

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He was on Kenya’s wanted list after the massacre, spokesman Mwenda Njoka said.

“It was a United States drone”.

One security official who has refused to be named confirmed that at least two key commanders were killed in the airstrike, identifying their names as Ismael Jamhad and Jama Dheere.

Al-Shabab is responsible for carrying out a series of deadly attacks on civilians, government troops and African Union forces across Somalia and in Kenya.

They have also conducted a string of attacks and massacres across northeastern Kenya, from Mandera in the far north to the Lamu region on the coast.

The strike took place in the early hours of Thursday.

In September previous year, U.S drones killed former al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and other senior officials of the group.

Al-Shabaab which is loyal to al-Qaeda has not issued a statement concerning the latest strikes.

A spokesman from the militants could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Ahmed Bare, Somali military officer in nearby Elwaq town, said that Shabaab commanders have been leaving Bardhere, one of the few towns still held by the militants, ahead of a planned ground assault by Somali troops.

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