Article

2015-03-14 Africa Horn

US drone strike kills Westgate attack planner, officials say

[IsraelTimes] Al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
man allegedly responsible for plotting death of 67 in Kenya mall believed dead

A US drone strike in Somalia on Thursday is believed to have killed a senior member of the al-Shabaab Lion of Islam group who allegedly helped plan the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, officials said.

Adan Garar and two others are suspected to have been killed after their car was targeted near the town of Bardhere, the Kenyan and US officials said.

The senior Kenyan official, who insisted on anonymity because he wasn't authorized to give the information to the media, says Garar is also suspected of planning failed attacks on Kenya's coast and in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, last year. The US official also insisted on anonymity.

Anti-terror police foiled a planned attack in the coastal city of Mombasa after they intercepted an exploding car in March 2014, according to Kenyan authorities. According to police, al-Shabaab bully boyz had planned simultaneous attacks on the international airport in Mombasa, the ferry crossing and a supermarket. The car laden with explosives was to be detonated on a ferry.

Al-Shabaab, an Islamic Lion of Islam group, has vowed to inflict violent attacks on Kenya and Uganda because the two countries have contributed troops to the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
force supporting the government in Somalia.

Sixty-seven people were killed in the Westgate attack, which was carried out by four gunnies from al-Shabaab.

An Nahar adds:

The U.S. military has carried out an air strike against a senior al-Shabaab

... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
bully boy in Somalia and is still reviewing the results of the operation, the Pentagon said Friday.

The operation, which did not involve U.S. troops on the ground, took place on Thursday on a road south of Mogadishu and focused on "a high-value target," front man Colonel Steven Warren

...a proud member of the Army of Steve...

told news hounds.

"This operation was conducted against the al-Shabaab network," Warren said. "We are currently assessing the results of this operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate."

An armed drone carried out the strike, a U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

The Pentagon declined to comment on reports, citing Kenyan officials, that the strike targeted a Shabaab figure who orchestrated the 2013 attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, which left 67 people dead.

Make of that what you will, dear Reader.

Update at 11:15 ET from Garowe Online:

U.S. officials said privately that the target of the drone strike was Adan Garar, a planner of the 2013 attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi. One official said the U.S. is 90% certain that Mr. Garar was killed in the attack but said the information hasn't yet been confirmed.

A spokesman for Somalia’s national security and intelligence ministry, Mohamed Yusuf, said Mr. Garaar had just taken over intelligence oversight for al-Shabaab from Abdishakur Tahlil, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in December.

Time to put out the 'help wanted' ad again on CraigsList...

The U.S. has targeted several al-Shabaab leaders who were suspected to be involved in the attack, including a September 2014 drone strike that killed the al-Shabaab commander known as Ahmed Abdi Godane.

Col. Warren said the latest strike occurred on a road west of Dinsoor and south of Mogadishu. Kenyan officials have said the strike occurred near the town of Bardhere, according to press reports. Bardhere is east of Dinsoor.

Fog of war?

U.S. officials said the operation was carried out by a drone armed with Hellfire missiles.

Posted by trailing wife 2015-03-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top
File under: al-Shabaab

#1 Adan Garar and two others are suspected to have been killed after their car was targeted near the town of Bardhere, the Kenyan and US officials said

The real cause was inadequate tire pressure.

Posted by Pappy 2015-03-14 11:18|| 2015-03-14 11:18|| Front Page Top

#2 What's the rule on body parts these days?

Is it a head two arms and a leg = a body
Or is it two legs a torso and a arm?

I know back in the day, a bunch of guys from G-2 could come in after a battle and start piling up body parts and come up with a body count. I never understood how anyone could do that and eat AND I never understood what the rules were, given the random nature of the disassembled parts.

Posted by Bill Clinton 2015-03-14 20:07|| 2015-03-14 20:07|| Front Page Top

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