Al-Shabab: Moroccan militant killed by US drone

Somali militants say that a Moroccan was killed in a strike that a U.S. official said was carried out by an American drone.

The statement Saturday on an al-Shabab website named the dead Moroccan as Sheik Abu Ibrahim. The statement said two others — including a second foreigner — were killed in the overnight Friday attack.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press the attack was carried out by a drone. Somali officials identified another of the militants killed in the attack as a Kenyan citizen.

Somalia’s al-Shabab counts hundreds of foreign fighters among its ranks. It formally merged with al-Qaida this month.

Al-Shabab has been forced out of Mogadishu and faces military attacks on three sides.

Associated Press