SOMALIA – An airstrike has killed the head of intelligence of al-Shabab, a Somali-based extremist group which is believed to have been among those who planned attacks on Kenyans.

Kenyan military spokesman Colonel David Obonyo said on Thursday that Mahad Karate, also known as Abdirahim Mohamed Warsame, died along with 10 middle-level al-Shabab members in an airstrike 10 days ago in Nadris camp in the south of Somalia. The US State department in April designated Karate a terrorist, saying he played a key role in the Amniyat, the wing of al-Shabab responsible for the April attack on Garissa University College in Kenya that resulted in nearly 150 deaths. Al-Shabab wants to topple Somalia’s weak government and has launched extremist attacks on neighbouring countries that have sent peace-keeping troops to back Somalia’s government.(Irish Independent)...[+]