When the US military fired missiles that exploded 10 kilometres from Quyno Barrow in Mogadishu, the operation killed Mohamed Mohamud Mire, who served as al-Shabaab's finance boss during the attacks on Kenya's Westgate Mall (2013) and 14 Riverside Drive (2019).
Al-Shabaab, an offshoot of the extremist group al-Qaeda, said on Wednesday that Mire had been killed in the air strike.
The US military released a statement on Friday confirming that its air strike had been successful and had killed two members of the terrorist group.
"The command will continue to assess the results of the operation and provide additional information as appropriate," the US military said in its statement.
"He was not lucky this month when American aircraft bombed him on the night of 24 December 2024," the al-Shabaab statement said.
Mire's involvement with al-Shabaan included financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or executing acts or activities on behalf of the militant group in both Kenya and Somalia.
During the Westgate attack on September 12, 2013, four attackers entered the mall in Nairobi and shot and killed several civilians.
While the security forces, supported by international partners, managed to kill all four attackers in their response, 62 civilians and five Kenyan Defence Forces officers lost their lives during the four-day siege.
On January 15, 2019, al-Shabaab launched another attack on Kenyan soil when five militants stormed 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi. The attack claimed the lives of 21 civilians and one GSU officer.
All five attackers were killed in the response by security officials, and the complex was secured on January 16, 2019.
On May 21, 2024, the UN Security Council listed Mire as a global threat for his involvement with al-Shabaab.
It said Mire had provided support for acts that threatened the peace, security and stability of Somalia.
“He participates in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of Al-Shabaab,” the council said.
According to the UN Security Council, Mire was a senior Shabaab leader who was “responsible for the Shabaab tax-collection wing and therefore is or has been involved in participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities on behalf of al-Shabaab.”
He was listed alongside other top al-Shabaab commanders, including Yasir Jiis, who is the commander of the armed wing known as the Jabha, which is responsible for carrying out attacks.
Another operative listed was Yusuf Ahmed Hajji Nurow, alias Gees Ade, who is in charge of Amniyat, al Shabaab's intelligence wing.
“Amniyat plays a key role in the execution of suicide attacks and assassinations in the region,” the UN Security Council said.
Also listed was Mustaf 'Ato, who is a senior Amniyat official and has been held responsible for carrying out attacks in Somalia and Kenya.
“He has helped plan attacks on Kenyan targets and United States of America (USA) military compounds in Kenya.”
Last on the list is Mohamoud Abdi Aden, whose name was widely mentioned during the Dusit D2 attack in 2019.
With their names on the US Treasury's list, all properties owned by them have been blocked and US citizens have been warned against doing business with them.
Mire is also linked to Al ittihad al Islamiyya (AIAI), Somalia's largest jihadist group, which operated in the 1990s.
The group was heavily involved in disrupting operations by the UN, US and Ethiopia.
Commenting on his death, the Somali government said it was its forces, supported by international partners, which "successfully neutralised Mohamed Mire Jama alias Abu Abdirahman in an operation conducted in Kunyo-Barow, Lower Shabelle".
Before being promoted to his financial role, Mire was the group's shadow boss in the Hiraan region.
In 2022, a US drone strike killed Abdullahi Yare, another al-Shabaab militant.
In 2023, reports circulated that senior al-Shabaab commander Maalim Ayman, who heads the Jaysh al Ayman military unit, had been killed.
However, the UN Sanctions and Monitoring Team said in July 2024 that he was still alive.
