US strike in Somalia ‘killed al-Shabab intelligence chief

Al-Shabab militants have been driven out of the group’s strongholds in Somalia A leader of the al-Shabab Islamist group was killed by a US air strike on Monday, Somali officials say. The intelligence chief, named as Abdishakur, was part of a unit responsible for suicide attacks, security officials said.
US defence chiefs did not confirm whether the al-Shabab leader had died. Washington has supported an African Union (AU) force which has driven the fundamentalist group from strongholds across the country since 2011. On Monday the US said it had targeted a “senior leader” of al-Shabab in the area of Saakow, about 320km (200 miles) west of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.