US, Somali forces kill terrorist organization Al-Shabaab commander

A senior leader of the Al-Shabaab militant group operating in Somalia and Kenya, was killed on December 17 by a joint military operation between the Somali and US forces.

As CNN reported, citing the statement of Somali Minister for Information Daud Aweis oublished on December 22, Maalim Ayman was accountable for planning multiple lethal terrorist attacks in Somalia and nearby countries.

He was most notably responsible for a terrorist attack on US and Kenyan personnel at Kenya’s Manda Bay Airfield on January 5, 2020, US officials say.

As a result of the 2020 assault, three Americans were killed, including one soldier and two civilian contractors. Two more US service members and one civilian contractor were wounded, according to a statement from the US Department of State.

The US government had issues a bounty of up to $10 million for “information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of Maalim Ayman” in January of this year.

Al-Shabaab was designated by the US as a terrorist group in 2008 and by a UN Security Council committee in 2010.