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| Somalia's al-Shabab commanders 'killed' in strike | Somalia's al-Shabab commanders 'killed' in strike |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 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 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. | 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. | 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. | |
| Residents of Jilib, some 120km (75 miles) north of the port of Kismayo, told the BBC that it was probably a drone attack that killed the al-Shabab commanders. | |
| "This afternoon, I heard a big crash and saw a drone disappearing far into the sky, at least two militants died," local resident Hassan Nur told the Reuters news agency. | |
| "I witnessed a Suzuki car burning, many al-Shabab men came to the scene. I could see them carry the remains of two corpses," he said. | |
| "It was a heavy missile that the drone dropped. Many cars were driving ahead of me but the drone targeted this Suzuki." | |
| 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. | |
| Al-Shabab has been driven out of several major towns and cities in southern Somalia but it still controls many rural areas. |