U.S. air strike in Somalia killed senior al Shabaab leader - Pentagon

A U.S. air strike last week killed a senior leader of the al Qaeda-linked

militant group al Shabaab in Somalia, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Hassan Ali Dhoore was killed in a U.S. air strike targeting him on March 31,

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. Dhoore was a member of al Shabaab's security

and intelligence wing, and was involved in the planning of high-profile attacks,

Cook said.

Dhoore planned and oversaw attacks resulting in the deaths of at least three

Americans, Cook said.

The Pentagon disclosed the air strike last week but was still assessing then

whether Dhoore had been killed.

The strike came weeks after the United States targeted an al Shabaab training

camp in Somalia in an air strike that the Pentagon says killed more than 150

fighters.

Al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces

in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent

attacks in its bid to overthrow the Western-backed government.

The group, whose name means "The Youth," seeks to impose its strict version

of sharia law in Somalia, where it frequently unleashes attacks targeting

security and government targets, as well as hotels and restaurants in the

capital.

Al Shabaab has also been behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda, which

both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

(REUTERS)