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Air raid 'kills Somali militants' | Air raid 'kills Somali militants' |
(30 minutes later) | |
The leader of the military wing of an Islamist insurgent organisation in Somalia has been killed in an air strike, reports say. | The leader of the military wing of an Islamist insurgent organisation in Somalia has been killed in an air strike, reports say. |
Aden Hashi Ayro, the head of al-Shabab, died when his home in the central town of Dusamareb was bombed. | |
Eight other people, including a senior militant, are also reported dead. | Eight other people, including a senior militant, are also reported dead. |
Al-Shabab, considered a terrorist group by the US, is the military wing of the Somali Sharia courts movement ousted by Ethiopian troops in 2006. | |
The group is in effect in control of large parts of central and southern Somalia. | |
'Infidel planes' | 'Infidel planes' |
An al-Shabab spokesman, Mukhtar Robow Adumansur, told the BBC that Ayro was killed in the attack, along with his brother. | |
Locals said the attacks happened at about 0300 (2400 GMT). | |
"We heard a huge explosion and when we ran out of our house we saw balls of smoke and flames coming out of house," Nur Geele told the BBC. | |
The Union of Islamic Courts was briefly in control of Mogadishu | |
"The house was totally destroyed to the ground, also other houses nearby," local elder Ahmed Mumin Jama said. | |
Residents said the air strike was carried out by US planes, but there has been no confirmation of this. | Residents said the air strike was carried out by US planes, but there has been no confirmation of this. |
The US says al-Shabab is part of the al-Qaeda network, although correspondents say it is impossible to accurately establish those links. | |
In its annual report on terrorism published on Wednesday, the US said al-Shabab militants posed "the most serious threat to American and allied interests in the region". | |
Al-Shabab has been at the forefront of a guerrilla insurgency against the government and its Ethiopian allies since early 2007. | Al-Shabab has been at the forefront of a guerrilla insurgency against the government and its Ethiopian allies since early 2007. |
The US has launched several air strikes against suspected extremist targets in Somalia in recent months. | The US has launched several air strikes against suspected extremist targets in Somalia in recent months. |