Pentagon Confirms Death of Islamist Group Al-Shabab Co-Founder

Photo showing Ugandan soldiers, as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia, arriving in the town of Kurtunwaarey in Somalia after having liberated it from Al Shabab on 31 August 2014. Photo by EPA/AMISOM.

The leader of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed following a US attack earlier this week, the Pentagon has said, Friday.

“The U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which led to his death,” Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement. “Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss” to al-Shabab,” Kirby added.

Godane was one of the US state department's most wanted men which had placed a bounty of USD 7M on his head, the BBC notes.

A statement from the White House press secretary described al-Shabab as the "largest al-Qaeda affiliate in Africa".

“Even as this is an important step forward in the fight against al-Shabaab, the United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal – financial, diplomatic, intelligence and military –to address the threat that al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups pose to the United States and the American people,” the White House statement reads.

Al-Shabab is a jihadist group based in Somalia which has claimed responsibility for last year’s attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, which resulted in more than 70 deaths and 200 injured. The group is also believed to be responsible for many bombings, including suicide attacks in Mogadishu and in central and northern Somalia.

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