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http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/05/world/africa/somali-militant-killed/index.html
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Top Somali militant killed in U.S. operation, Pentagon says
By Michael Martinez, CNN
updated 7:35 PM EDT, Fri September 5, 2014
(CNN) -- Ahmed Godane, the leader of the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab,
was killed this week in a U.S. military operation, the Pentagon said Friday.
"The U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which
led to his death. Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic
and operational loss to Al-Shabaab," said Pentagon press secretary Rear
Adm. John Kirby.
On Monday, U.S. military conducted a strike in the African country
targeting Godane, who had pledged allegiance to al Qaeda. He headed
Al-Shabaab as it terrorized East Africa, killing Somali officials, aid
workers and others in a spate of suicide bombings. Godane allegedly was
behind 2013's deadly siege of a Nairobi, Kenya, shopping mall.
Before this week's strike, the U.S. military was tipped off to what Kirby
called "actionable intelligence ... strong enough" to suggest Godane's
whereabouts.
In response, U.S. commandos flew -- aided by drones -- into an area south
of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, around 6:20 p.m. (11:20 a.m. ET) Monday.
Pentagon: Somali al Qaeda leader killed
A look inside Al-Shabaab
Abdikadir Mohamed Nur Sidii, governor of Somalia's Lower Shabelle region,
characterized the attack near the port city of Barawe as so ferocious "it
jolted the entire region."
Sidii said, "I never heard such a huge and deafening blast as the result of
the airstrike."
Earlier this week, Kirby didn't elaborate on how much firepower was
involved, beyond the use of Hellfire and laser-guided missiles. Somali
intelligence officials counted at least four such missiles.
After the attack, an Al-Shababb Twitter account said one person was killed
but asserted it wasn't Godane. "'Ahmed Abdi Godane' is alive and doing
fine," the tweet said, calling itself an "official mujahedin account" in
the Islamic land of Somalia.
At the time, CNN was unable to verify the authenticity of that claim on
Twitter.
The man behind Al-Shabaab
Godane, who was also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, became the leader of
Al-Shabaab in 2008.
Traditionally, Al-Shabaab focused on bringing Islamic rule to Somalia,
attracting dozens of ethnic Somalis -- and a few Westerners -- from the
United States and Europe.
But last year Godane seemed to be refocusing the group on terrorist attacks
beyond Somalia -- against East African states supporting the Somali
government, especially Uganda and Kenya, and against Western interests in
East Africa.
The September 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Kenya's capital was Al-Shabaab's
most audacious, but the massacre that left 67 people dead wasn't the
group's first strike outside Somalia. In 2010, Al-Shabaab carried out
suicide bombings in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in which more than 70
people were killed.
Still, the Westgate siege demonstrated Godane's desire to align his group
more closely with al Qaeda. In a taped message afterward, he noted the
attack took place "just 10 days after the anniversary date of the blessed
9/11 operations."
Under Godane, Al-Shabaab became a formal ally of al Qaeda. The move led to
dissent in the group, which Godane dealt with ruthlessly, using his control
of Al-Shabaab's intelligence wing. The American jihadist Omar Hammami was
reportedly killed in September 2013 after criticizing Godane's leadership
and his treatment of foreign fighters.
Godane was said to be 37 years old, and was originally from Somaliland in
northern Somalia. He was slim to the point of wispy, as seen in the few
photographs of him, and preferred recording audio messages to appearing in
public.
A former Somali prime minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, once
described Godane as the cleverest of Al-Shabaab's leaders.
The U.S. government's Rewards for Justice program listed him under another
alias, Ahmed Abdi Aw-Mohamed, and offered up to $7 million last year for
information leading to his location.
Read: What to know about Al-Shabaab
Read: Ruthless leader aims to extend reach of Al-Shabaab, eyes the West
Received on Fri Sep 05 2014 - 21:19:13 EDT