A senior commander of the Al-Shabaab militant group has been killed by a joint operation by Somali troops and US forces.

Maalim Ayman, who is said to have planned multiple lethal terrorist attacks in Somalia and nearby countries, was killed on Sunday, December 17.

“The killing of terrorist Maalim Ayman highlights the Somali govt’s resolve to punish those responsible for the merciless acts of violence against our people,” Somali Information Minister said on X on Thursday.

He added: “Our vision is to establish a peaceful Somalia that’s internally cohesive and in harmony with its neighbors and the world.”

Leading deadly attack in Kenya

The US placed a $10 million (KSh1.54bn) bounty on Ayman’s head in January, after revealing that he is the one who planned the January 5, 2020 attack on the Manda Bay Airfield in Kenyan coast.

In the pre-dawn hours, al-Shabaab militants launched mortar rounds at the Kenyan and U.S. positions inside the base and simultaneously fired rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and small arms at the adjacent Manda Bay Airfield.

Two DoD contractor pilots, both U.S. citizens, were killed when their military aircraft was hit by RPGs on the tarmac of the airfield.

A third DoD contractor, also a U.S. citizen, survived the explosion with serious injuries. A U.S. Army specialist acting as an air traffic controller was killed in the ensuing firefight, and two other U.S. citizen service members were injured.

Maalim Ayman is the leader of Jaysh Ayman, an al-Shabaab unit conducting terrorist attacks and operations in Kenya and Somalia.

In November 2020, the Department of State designated Ayman as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.