US kills terror intel chief

Somalia’s intelligence agency said Tuesday that a U.S. airstrike conducted Monday killed the intelligence chief of Somali terror group al-Shabaab, according to The Associated Press. 

A statement from the intelligence agency said the slain leader, known as Abdishakur or Tahlil, was killed along with two other al-Shabaab militants. 

{mosads}The Pentagon said the strike took place Monday in or around Saakow, Somalia, and that officials did not believe there were any civilian or bystander casualties. 

A senior defense official told the AP the strike did not target Ahmad Umar, who took over as the group’s top leader when the United States killed Ahmed Abdi Godane in an airstrike on Sept. 1. 

Al-Shabaab is an ultra-conservative Islamic militant group linked to al Qaeda that seeks to run Somalia under strict Shariah law. 

Another al-Shabaab leader with a $3 million bounty on his head, Zakariya Ismail Hersi, surrendered to Somali authorities three days ago.