Mastermind of Garissa massacre among 4 Al-Shabaab leaders killed in drone strike

Four senior leaders of the militant group Al-Shabaab were killed early Thursday in a drone strike in Somalia's southern Juungal area, the Kenyan government has confirmed.

The drone strike by the African Union force in Somalia took place at 2 a.m. local time, said spokesman for the ministry of interior, Mwenda Njoka.

Local residents said the strike targeted a stronghold of Al- Shabaab.

Among the killed was Mohamed Kuno, who was said to be the mastermind of the April attack on Kenya's Garissa University that killed 148 people, according to Njoka.

Other two killed, Ismail Jabhadi and Jamaa Adhere, were on Kenya's most-wanted list, he revealed on his twitter account.

Mohamed Kuno was a regional commander of Al-Shabaab and was responsible for cross-border operations against Kenya.

He was a principal at an Islamic school in Garissa for years before joining in the Somalia-based group. Enditem