An al-Shabab chief said to die in strikes

MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S. forces conducted two strikes on al-Qaida-linked fighters in southern Somalia that the Horn of Africa nation’s government said killed a senior militant.

The attacks took place Thursday near the Benadir region, U.S. Africa Command said in a statement, without giving further details. Somalia’s government said President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed authorized a “coordinated operation with international partners.”

The unidentified man killed was a “high-level” leader of the al-Shabab group responsible for bombings and assassinations in the capital, Mogadishu, the Information Ministry said in an emailed statement. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the strikes.