Al Shabab senior explosive expert Ali Abdi and one other are said to have been killed after a US drone attack the vehicle they were driving on Monday.
The drone strike was the first in Somalia since last year and was part of a recent escalation in the US operations in the war racked country since Nairobi Mall attacks.
Reports say the air strike killed two men riding in the car, including Ibrahim Ali Abdi, a Somali the US has dubbed the ‘notorious’ explosive expert who had helped many terrorist attacks on United Nations facilities, embassies and other targets in Somalia.
Some reports also say early this month the US Navy Seal was heavily resisted by the Shabab when they tried to penetrate a compound along Somali coast in an effort to try and capture Shabab official Ikrimah.
“Abdi was the one we have been tracking for a while,” said a US official.
“We have been active against the terrorist group and now they are under pressure,” he added.
The airstrike involved three missiles strikes from a drone directed to a vehicle on road east of the town of Jihid, in southern Somalia.
“I heard a big crash and saw a drone disappearing fast into the sky, I witnessed a Suzuki car burning. Two militants were killed,” said Shur an eyewitness.
Comments
About Author
