Somalia says Al-Shabab commander killed

MOGADISHU: A regional leader of the Al- Shabab extremist group has been killed in a raid by Somalia’s military, the government announced Sunday, as the country’s new offensive against the fighters moves ahead.

The statement by Somalia’s information minister said Lower Shabelle regional leader Moalin Osman Abdi Badil and three associates were killed Friday in Bariire village west of the capital, Mogadishu. There is no immediate comment from the extremist group.

The raid came a day after a US service member was killed while supporting an operation by Somalia’s military in the same area. The Pentagon called it the first US combat death in Somalia since 1993. That is when US forces pulled out of the Horn of Africa nation in the wake of the “Black Hawk Down” incident in which two helicopters were shot down and bodies of American soldiers were dragged through the streets.

Both Somalia and the US are stepping up efforts against the Somalia- based Al- Shabab, which has carried out attacks in other parts of East Africa and continues to target the Somali capital with deadly bombings.