Politics and policy
People take cover when the Westgate mall was attacked. Photo/FILE
By BDAfrica.com REPORTER and AGENCIES
In Summary
Al-Shabaab’s supreme leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, the
man who ordered last year's Westgate shopping mall massacre in Kenya,
may be one of six or seven people killed in an American drone strike
late Monday.
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He has variously been described as the group's Osama bin Laden.
Somali government and
intelligence officials "confirmed" the killing to BBC, NBC and other
media outlets even as American government officials held back details,
refusing to even name the “senior operative” targeted in the attack
However, other Somali intelligence sources that spoke to Reuters said
reports of Godane's death were "a strong rumour that may or may not be
true".
The 37-year-old Godane, also
known as Abu Zubeyr, was in a convoy of four vehicles, three lorries and
a smaller vehicle, attacked in a forested area 240km south of
Mogadishu. He had a $7 million bounty on his head.
Al-Shabaab spokesman Abu Mohamed
confirmed to journalists that Godane was in the convoy but would not say
whether he was among the dead. Al Shabaab sources that spoke to BBC
journalists put the death toll at nine.
American and Somali government
sources said US military forces carried out an operation targeting
leaders of the Al-Qaeda linked Islamist militant group leaving a meeting
in a remote area of Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region. US officials added
that they will release details on the attack later.
"We are assessing the results of
the operation and will provide additional information as and when
appropriate," a Pentagon spokesman said. The death, if confirmed by a
credible source, would be a major blow to the group whose radical move
towards global jihadism was driven by Godane, a ruthless operator who
eliminated many of his key rivals.
Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, governor
of Lower Shabelle Region, who is with the advancing forces, told the BBC
that the attack was successful.
"US drones managed to hit the
representative of Al-Qaeda in Somalia… Ahmed Godane," he told the BBC
Somali service. "We can tell that a senior figure from the group was
killed due to the way they reacted after the attack, as they have
started committing atrocities in the area, they have beheaded some of
the people who had mobile phones and arrested many others [accused of
spying]."
Previous reports of successful drone strikes have proved to be false with targetted leaders resurfacing elsewhere.
Al Shabaab (Harakat al Shabaab al
Mujahideen) is an Islamist group that wants to impose its own strict
version of Islam in Somalia. The group became affiliated with Al Qaeda
under the leadership of Godane, who is believed to have been trained by
the Taliban. Al Shabaab ruled most of the southern region of Somalia
from 2006 until 2011, when African peacekeeping troops marched into the
capital, Mogadishu. African and Somali forces have regained several
towns this year, but rebels still hold some areas. -- Reuters, BBC and AFP.
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