Al-Shabab Leader Killed

Just a short note to confirm that Al-Shabab’s leader does seem to have died in an explosion (one presumes a missile) in Dhusa Mareb, central Somalia.
Al-Shabab spokesperson held and press conference over the phone this morning with local radio stations in which they vowed they would retaliate against the attack.

It makes working in Mogadishu just that little bit more difficult…

40 minutes ago (at around 10:30 Somali time) in fact there was the first sign of this in a roadside bomb attack against a 3-vehicle convoy of African Union troops on the road from the airport into town. There were no deaths and no injuries, but there is now a relatively sizeable hole in the road.
At any rate, this seems to be an important moment for Al-Shabab, and we will likely see a spike in violence over the next few days.