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Senior leader of al-Shabaab targeted by U.S. airstrike: Pentagon

Xinhua, June 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Pentagon said on Wednesday it had conducted an airstrike against a senior leader of the al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group al-Shabaab in Somalia.

"On March 27, U.S. forces carried out an airstrike in south-central Somalia targeting Abdullahi Haji Da'ud, a senior military commander for al-Shabaab," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

The death of Da'ud was yet to be confirmed, said Cook.

According to Cook, the removal of Da'ud would "disrupt near-term attack planning."

Al-Shabaab, an extremist group, is responsible for dozens of attacks in east Africa, particularly Kenya.

Despite its involvement in assisting the Somalian government and African Union forces in battling al-Shabaab, the U.S. military so far had not launched regular airstrikes against the group in Somalia. Enditem