US military drone strike kills senior al-Shabab official

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A Somali intelligence official says a U.S. drone strike has killed a senior officer with the al-Shabab extremist group.

The official says the unidentified officer had maintained links with foreign extremist groups with the aim of co-ordinating future attacks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Residents said the officer’s vehicle was struck Tuesday outside the al-Shabab-held town of Kunya Barow in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region.

The U.S. military in a statement confirms the strike and says the al-Shabab member had direct ties to al-Qaida. The U.S. says the strike was carried out in co-ordination with Somalia’s government.

A United Nations expert report released this month says al-Shabab remains a potent regional threat and now makes its own explosives.