The Pentagon announced that an air strike carried out in Somalia on Monday killed a bomb specialist in terrorist group Al Shabaab, three weeks after a failed attempt at capturing one of their senior leaders, The New York Times reported.
The strike killed Ibrahim Ali -- responsible for creating homemade bombs and suicide vests, according to the Defense Department.
"He's been identified as someone we've been tracking for a long time," said an official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
On Monday, reports began swirling of a possible strike in southern Somalia though the claims were not officially verified at first. Hassan Nur, a resident who witnessed the strike, explained the scene to Reuters.
"This afternoon, I heard a big crash and saw a drone disappearing far into the sky, at least two militants died," Nur said.
"I witnessed a Suzuki car burning, many al-Shabab men came to the scene. I could see them carry the remains of two corpses. It was a heavy missile that the drone dropped. Many cars were driving ahead of me but the drone targeted this Suzuki."
Al Shabaab is the terrorist group responsible for the Westgate Mall attack that occurred in Nairobi, Kenya in September. The assault resulted in 67 deaths and left over 100 people wounded.
Though the U.S. has carried out air strikes in Somalia before, the Obama administration has been reluctant to perform a recent strike since they haven't attacked American soil and therefore may not be legal targets of the military.
In addition, some feared that a strike would incite Al Shabaab militants to retaliate against the U.S.
However, the administration followed through with their announcement in May when they said anyone who posed a "continuing and imminent threat to the American people" would be targeted and killed.
