Militant killed in missile attack

MOGADISHU (AP):

A member of Somali rebel group al-Shabab was killed yesterday by a missile fired by a suspected drone, a rebel commander said, blaming the United States (US) for the strike.

Abu Mohamed told The Associated Press that Sahal Iskudhuq, a militant commander who was believed to be close to al-Shabab's top leader, was killed when his car was hit by a missile in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region. The attack took place in a village called Hawai, he said.

A Somali intelligence official confirmed the attack, describing the victim as a "dangerous" militant. His driver was also killed in the attack, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to reveal the information.

Mohamed blamed the attack on the US, which flies drones over Somalia that occasionally fire at one of al-Shabab's top leaders.

Last October, a US military strike hit a vehicle carrying senior members of the al-Qaida-linked group, killing its top explosives expert. Earlier that month, US Navy SEALs had raided a coastal Somali town to take down a Kenyan al-Shabab member. The SEALs withdrew before capturing or killing their target - Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, known as Ikrima - who was identified as the lead planner of a plot by al-Shabab to attack Kenya's parliament building and the United Nations office in capital, Nairobi, in 2011 and 2012.