... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
was killed Sunday by a missile fired by a suspected drone, a rebel commander said, blaming the U.S. for the strike.
Abu Mohammed told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that Sahal Iskudhuq, a myrmidon commander who was believed to be close to al-Shabaab's top leader, was killed when his car was hit by a missile in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region. The attack took place in a village called Hawai, he said.
A Somali intelligence official confirmed the attack, describing the victim as a "dangerous" myrmidon. His driver was also killed in the attack, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to reveal the information.
Mohammed blamed the attack on the U.S., which flies drones over Somalia that occasionally fire at one of al-Shabaab's top leaders.
Last October, a U.S. military strike hit a vehicle carrying senior members of the al-Qaeda-linked group, killing its top explosives expert. Earlier that month, U.S. Navy SEALs had raided a coastal Somali town to take down a Kenyan al-Shabaab member. The SEALs withdrew before capturing or killing their target -- Abdulkadir Mohammed Abdulkadir, known as Ikrima -- who was identified as the lead planner of a plot by al-Shabaab to attack Kenya's parliament building and the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
office in capital, Nairobi, in 2011 and 2012.
Kenya has faced multiple attacks by the myrmidons, who want the country's military to leave Somalia. In September, the hard boyz attacked Nairobi's upscale Westgate Mall with guns and grenades, killing at least 67 people.
Al-Shabaab is now mostly active in Somalia's rural regions, after being ousted from the capital by 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...
forces in 2011. But the group is still able to launch lethal attacks-- often involving hard boyz on suicide missions --within Mogadishu, the seat of government.