US confirms al-Shabab leader Ahmed Godane killed

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The leader of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed following a US attack earlier this week, the Pentagon has said.

The US carried out air strikes on Monday night destroying a vehicle and an encampment south of the capital.

Somalia’s president issued a statement on Friday urging militants to embrace peace after the death of their leader.

Godane was one of the US state department’s most wanted men.

It had placed a bounty of $7m (£4.2m) on his head.

Somali analyst Nuur Mohamud Sheekh told the BBC that Godane’s death “will deal a major blow to the group.

“It will have an impact in terms of affecting the morale of the fighters on the ground but it is not the end of al-Shabab in the short or medium term.”

He added there was no likely successor.

On Friday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed announced a 45-day amnesty for militants who are willing to renounce al-Shabab.
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Ahmed Abdi Godane:

US put $7m (£4m) bounty on his head in 2012
Pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2009
Became al-Shabab’s top commander after US air strike killed his predecessor Aden Hashi Ayro in 2008
Sentenced to death in absentia for 2008 attack in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa
Studied in Sudan and Pakistan, where he became radicalised
Said to have fought in Afghanistan
Was reputed to be a good orator and poet
Also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair
Source : BBC