The United States announced it has killed a founding member of the militant Islamist group al-Shabab, Yusuf Jiis, in an airstrike in Somalia carried out on April 2. The US Africa Command said in a press release Tuesday that its post-strike assessments confirm that one of the three terrorists killed in the command’s Apr. 2 precision airstrike was a long-standing, high-ranking leader in the al-Shabaab terrorist organization. The terrorist, Yusuf Jiis, was one of the foundational members of the terrorist group and held many significant positions that facilitated al-Shabaab’s violent and harmful activities throughout East Africa, AFRICOM commander Gen Stephen Townsend said. Al-Shabab, which controls parts of central and southern Somalia, frequently carries out attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 08, 2020 20:15 UTC