US Airstrikes Eliminate Daesh, Al-Shabaab Leaders in Libya, Somalia

A US military airstrike in Somalia has killed senior al-Shabaab leader Abdirahman Sandhere, while a strike in Libya eliminated a senior Islamic State leader Abu Nabil, US Defense Department spokesperson Jeff Davis said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "His [Sandhere’s] removal from the battlefield is a significant blow to al Shabaab and reflects the painstaking work by our intelligence, military and law enforcement professionals, and it's an important step in the fight against al Shabaab," Davis said as quoted by the Hill.

Davis noted that the airstrike that was carried out on December 2, also killed two al-Shabaab associates.

Another US military airstrike on November 13 killed the head of Daesh in Libya, former al-Qaeda operative Nabil, in the city of Derna, according the media outlet citing the Pentagon.

The IS terrorist group, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, has captured vast swaths of land in Iraq and Syria, proclaiming a caliphate. Daesh affiliates also operate in North Africa, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In October, an al-Shabaab faction from Somalia pledged loyalty to Daesh.