BARDERA, Somalia, March 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. drone strike in Somalia on Thursday likely killed the al-Shabaab militant suspected of helping to plan an attack on a Nairobi, Kenya, shopping mall that killed at least 67 people in 2013.
U.S. military officials told the Washington Post on Friday the drone strike likely killed Adan Garaar, a senior leader of the al-Shabaab terror group. The strike killed two other people riding in a vehicle with Garaar near the southern Somalia town of Bardera.
Army Col. Steven Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the United States was still awaiting confirmation Garaar was killed.
Sources in Somalia told Voice of America the vehicle targeted in the attack belonged to Garaar.
Garaar was accused of being a ringleader in the attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi in September 2013. Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack on the high-end shopping center.
Men armed with AK-47s raided the mall and set off grenades, killing at least 67 people and injuring hundreds in a siege that lasted four days. The mall eventually collapsed due to a fire set inside the structure.
