Defense One quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the US drone strike that killed an al-Shabaab leader who orchestrated the attack on a Kenyan shopping mall two years ago:

Pentagon officials would not say if any other militants were targeted in the strike or if it had caused any civilian casualties. But J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, citing conversations he had had with Somali officials as early as last week, said two other militants had been killed in the drone attack. That couldn’t be immediately confirmed by U.S. officials.

Garar was not very well known but in fact was considered “a major Shabab player,” Pham said, and “one of their more skilled operatives.” He had participated in attacks outside Somalia, including in Uganda and Kenya, Pham said.

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