A senior al-Shabaab leader, who planned and directed a January attack on Manda Bay, that killed three Americans, has been killed.
US military said on Tuesday in a statement that the surgent was killed together with his wife in an airstrike in Somalia.
US Africa Command said the strike had targeted an al Shabaab compound, and it resulted in killing “two terrorists” and wounding another.
AL-SHABAAB LEADER associated with Manda Bay attack and his wife killed in a US airstrike; US Africa command says. pic.twitter.com/UIDEMvVLgP
— NationBreakingNews (@NationBreaking) February 25, 2020
“Post-strike assessments confirm the two terrorists killed in the February,22, precision airstrikes were an individual associated with the attack on Manda Bay and his wife, who was also a known al-Shabaab member,” US Africa Command said in a statement Tuesday.
“The two terrorists were identified as a senior al-Shabaab leader, who was in charge of planning and directing terrorist operations on the Kenya border region, including the recent attack on Manda Bay, and his wife, who also was a witting and active member of al-Shabaab responsible for facilitating a wide range of terrorist activities,” the statement added.
The Manda Bay resulted in the death of a US soldier and two American defense contractors as well as the destruction of multiple Defense Department aircraft.
This comes even as al Shabaab has stepped up the pace of its attacks in Kenya since the New Year.
On February 19, three people were killed after al Shabaab attacked a bus in Sarmani, Mandera County on Wednesday.
Five other passengers sustained injuries as scores fled the scene in fear for their lives.
The bus belonging to Moyale Raha company was from Mandera headed to Nairobi when the insurgents attacked.