A
air strike in southern Somalia has killed two senior commanders of
militant Islamist group, al-Shabab, residents have told the BBC.
The strike destroyed the vehicle the militants were
travelling in between the towns of Jilib and Barawe, seen as a major
base of al-Shabab, they said. The US launched a failed raid in Barawe earlier this month to capture an al-Shabab commander.
Al-Shabab is the main al-Qaeda-linked group in East Africa.
A Kenyan military source told the BBC their troops had raided Jilib, and there could be some casualties.
However, it is unlikely that they carried out the air strike, correspondents say.
Jilib residents told the BBC that it was probably a drone attack that killed the al-Shabab commanders.
At least 67 people were killed last month when al-Shabab fighters seized the Westgate shopping centre in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.
US commandos raided Barawe after the attack, but had to retreat after meeting heavy resistance.
The US was believed to have sought to capture al-Shabab commander Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, alias Ikrima.
Barawe residents say Ikrima is an al-Shabab leader with responsibility for logistics, who is usually accompanied by about 20 well-armed guards.
The US has carried out a series of air attacks in Somalia.
In 2008, a US strike killed al-Shabab commander Aden Hashi Ayro.
A year later, another strike killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was accused of involvement in the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi and the 2002 attacks on a hotel and airline in Mombasa.
The US has a large military base in Djibouti, which borders Somalia.
SOURCE: BBC
