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The Pentagon said on Tuesday that it had targeted Al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane in a drone strike in Barawa, Somalia. It is not confirmed if Godane was killed in the attack.
Somali officials told media that a U.S. drone targeted Godane as he left a meeting with his fellow militants from a suspected al-Shabab compound. Special Operation forces used both manned and unmaned aircraft and fired several Hellfire missiles and precision bombs at the compound and a vehicle, the New York Times reported.
“We certainly believe that we hit what we were aiming at,” Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Defense Department’s chief spokesman, said during a news briefing, according to the New York Times. Several militants were killed by the strike, but it has not yet been determined whether Godane survived.
The Pentagon said it would not draw any definitive conclusions as several al-Qaeda leaders have resurfaced after being reportedly killed in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan, the Washington Post reported.
