Bubu Msemaovyo
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The bodies of three suspected al Shabaab militants were recovered in Somalia following a U.S. airstrike. In this file photo from 2008, armed militant fighters are seen on pickup trucks. Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia-The Islamic militant group al-Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in east Africa, said it was considering at least four possible candidates to succeed its leader, whose death following a U.S. airstrike was confirmed Friday.
The al-Shabaab commander, known as Ahmed Abdi Godane, died of wounds sustained in the drone strike Monday in Somalia's remote Lower Shabelle region, said the group's spokesman Abu Mohamed.
An undated photo provided by the U.S. website 'Rewards for Justice' purportedly showing Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed, also known as Ahmed Abdi Godane. Agence-France Presse/Getty Images
Other members of the group were also killed in the attack, Mr. Mohamed said, prompting speculation that it could be rendered temporarily rudderless or even splinter. But Mr. Mohamed said the top spot wouldn't remain vacant for long.
"We have men dedicated to continue the leadership," he said.
Mr. Mohamed said a group of top al-Shabaab leaders have been holding discussions about a successor and that at least four men were being considered: southwestern commander Ahmed Dheere, a close ally of Mr. Godane; Sheikh Abdulhak, also known as Sheikh Dahir Ga'amey, who as the group's top judge has overseen executions of those alleged to be Somali government spies; Sheikh Mohamed Aala Sheikh, who has been responsible for collecting taxes from Somali businesses; and Ahmed Diriei, who was a close adviser to Mr. Godane.
U.S. officials didn't say immediately who they believed would take the reins of al-Shabaab. A U.S. official said the group was being watched very closely, as is Mr. Diriei, but declined to say if he was considered the likely successor.
Asked about reports of high-ranking members meeting to try to pick a successor, the official said "If we become aware of such a meeting we will strike."
"We will continue to conduct operations to bring al-Shabaab's brand of terror in Somalia to an end," the official said.
Analysts said it was too soon to tell if the group was indeed still unified or attempting to forestall its fragmentation after the death of a charismatic leader, who had sidelined or eliminated other powerful figures in the group since taking over in 2008.
Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed revived an offer of amnesty to al-Shabaab members who agree to renounce violence and join a peace process. To those who refuse, he said, "you will caught like Godane."
"I can declare that today justice is done in Somalia," he said.
Mr. Godane, who liked to quote Somali poets and harangue dissenters on Twitter, TWTR -0.10% was instrumental in steering al-Shaabab from a largely domestic outfit to a terror group that struck targets in foreign countries.
It has been formally allied with al Qaeda since 2012-a partnership that is largely credited to Mr. Godane.
He is also believed to have encouraged al-Shaabab to carry out attacks in Uganda and Kenya, two countries that have sent troops to fight Somali militants. In 2010, multiple bomb blasts killed more than 80 people in the Ugandan capital Kampala. Al-Shabaab also claimed responsibility for an attack on an upscale Nairobi shopping mall last year that killed more than 60 people.
"This is definitely a game changer for al-Shabaab and probably a turning point for the organization," said Abdi Aynte, head of The Heritage Insitute, a Mogadishu-based think tank. "This leader, Ahmed Godane, built the organization around himself for the past three years."
The Somali defense minister, Gen. Mohamed Hassan Hamud, called Mr. Godane's death a major victory for the fight against terrorism in Somalia.
"His death isn't only a blow to al-Shabaab but also to al Qaeda," he said.
The Pentagon had said early in the week that the manned and unmanned U.S. military aircraft had fired Hellfire missiles and dropped bombs on an al-Shabaab encampment and hit their targets.
Mr. Ahmed, the prime minister, said the raid followed a long period of information-gathering by Somali intelligence and U.S forces.
Somali intelligence agents recovered three bodies in the region. On Friday, two bulletproof ambulances, escorted by heavily armed intelligence and security forces, arrived in Mogadishu.
The U.S. used "a variety of intelligence methods," not only DNA testing, to confirm his identity, the U.S. official said.
"Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to al-Shabaab," Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon's press secretary, said in confirming his death Friday.
The U.S. tried to strike Mr. Godane in October but pulled back to avoid civilian casualties. Unlike the previous attempt in October, this strike didn't involve boots on the ground.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the killing of Mr. Godane "reflects years of painstaking work by our intelligence, military and law enforcement professionals."
Mr. Mohamed, the al-Shabaab spokesman, had confirmed this past week that Mr. Godane was in a convoy of vehicles hit by a U.S. airstrike. He said two of the convoy's three vehicles were destroyed.
In the days following the strike, al-Shabaab militants attempted to find out who among local residents had shared information about their movements. On Wednesday and Thursday, militants took mobile phones from civilians, residents say.
Source:Wall Street Journal