The Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday that the al Shabaab chief of intelligence was killed in a U.S. drone strike. Somali officials originally claimed on Tuesday that the chief of intelligence for the al Shabaab terrorist group died in a drone strike, but the Pentagon did not comment on the validity of the information until today. The drone strike, which was headed by the United States, targeted an al Shabaab senior leader, said the Pentagon on Tuesday.
The Somali officials that stated the death of the al Shabaab leader on Tuesday are from Somalia’s intelligence agency. The Shabaab chief of intelligence that was killed goes by the name of Abdishakur, or Tahlil. Somali officials added that two additional Shabaab militants were killed in the air strike.
A statement by the U.S. Pentagon on Wednesday briefly described the operation that killed the al Shabaab leader. On December 29, 2014 an unmanned aircraft fired several Hellfire missiles at a vehicle containing Tahlil. The operation occurred near Saakow, Somalia.
“His death will significantly impact al Shabaab's ability to conduct attacks against the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Somali people, and U.S. allies and interests in the region,” said the Pentagon in a statement. Abdishakur was thought to be the mastermind behind multiple suicide bombings in Mogadishu.
It is believed that the Pentagon did not originally comment on Tuesday’s findings by Somali intelligence because of mistakes in the past; Pentagon officials mistakenly confirmed the deaths of militants, who were actually alive and made appearances.
Al Shabaab is an ultra conservative Islamic militant group whose leader is closely affiliated with al Qaeda. The U.S. has been holding a campaign against the militants and killed the previous leader of al Shabaab back in September. Ahmed Abdi Godane, head of the militant group at the time, was killed in a U.S. airstrike. Despite setbacks by the loss of significant leaders, the al Shabaab group has been aggressively continuing its attacks.
