US confirms al-Shabab leader Ahmed Godane killed
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.
line
Ahmed Abdi Godane:
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.
line
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
