In cooperation with the Somali government, the U.S. military conducted an airstrike yesterday in Somalia against Hassan Ali Dhoore, a senior leader of the al-Shabab terrorist group, who is part of al-Qaida, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook reported today.
In a statement, Cook said officials still are assessing the operation’s results.
Removing Dhoore from the battlefield would be a significant blow to al-Shabab's operational planning and ability to conduct attacks against Somalia’s government and its citizens, against U.S. partners in the region, and against Americans abroad, the press secretary said.
Involved in High-Profile Attacks
In addition to being part of al-Qaida, Cook said, Dhoore was a member of al-Shabab's Amniyat security and intelligence wing, and he was heavily involved in high-profile attack planning in Mogadishu. He had planned and overseen attacks resulting in the death of at least three U.S. citizens, the press secretary added.
Dhoore played a direct role in the Dec. 25, 2014, attack on Mogadishu International Airport, resulting in the death of several African Union Mission in Somalia personnel and a U.S. citizen, Cook said. He also was directly responsible for the March 27, 2015, attack on the Maka al-Mukarram Hotel in Mogadishu that killed 15 people, including a Somali-American national, and was believed to have been plotting attacks targeting U.S. citizens in Mogadishu, he added.