Somalia to enhance ties with U.S. in fighting ‘al-Shabaab’: official

MOGADISHU Somalia (Xinhua) — Somali government has commended the United States for killing an ‘al-Shabaab’ intelligence leader last week in central Somalia, saying it will enhance partnership with the U.S. in the fight against the Al-Qaida linked group.

Somali Foreign Minister Abdisalan Hadliye said the Somali government had received intelligence about the killing of Aden Garar from Washington authorities, noting the death of the intelligence commander was a milestone in the fight against terrorism in Somalia.

“Somali government welcomes the effort by the U.S. in killing Garar and is open to lend a hand for any measures aimed at finishing ‘al-Shabaab’ in Somalia,” he said.

Hadliye said the government is going to enhance partnership with the U.S. in targeting and eradicating the remaining bases of ‘al-Shabaab’ in the country.

The Pentagon confirmed earlier this week that its drone strike killed Garar, whom it identified as the mastermind of the Westgate mall attack in the Kenyan capital Nairobi that killed 67 people in 2013.

The death of Garar is the third major U.S. drone strike in the past one year.

Despite efforts to eradicate it, ‘al-Shabaab’ has occasionally been able to mount attacks in Mogadishu, with the recent one in a hotel that killed over 20 people.

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