US strikes in Somalia kill senior militant

Mogadishu: US forces conducted two strikes on Al Qaida-linked fighters in southern Somalia that the Horn of Africa nation’s government said killed a senior militant.

The attacks took place Thursday near the Benadir region, the US Africa Command said in a statement. The unidentified man killed was a “high-level” leader of the AlShabab group responsible for bombings and assassinations in the capital. Meanwhile, asuicide bomber detonated himself and killed at least one other person in Mogadishu on Friday after he was prevented from entering a mosque where senior army officials were attending prayers, Aidid Ahmad, an officer at the scene, said by phone.