MOGADISHU, Somalia — The U.S. military said Monday it carried out a drone strike in Somalia that killed a member of the al-Shabab extremist group, while Somalia’s government said it believes the strike killed a high-level al-Shabab commander responsible for several deadly bombings in the capital. A U.S. Africa Command statement said the airstrike occurred Saturday near Tortoroow, an al-Shabab stronghold in Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab is the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. The U.S. military in early July said it carried out an airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia and was assessing the results. The extremist group also has carried out deadly attacks in neighboring countries, notably Kenya, calling it retribution for sending troops to Somalia to fight al-Shabab.

Source: Washington Post July 31, 2017 12:27 UTC