{A senior Al-Shabaab commander who masterminded the Westgate terrorist attack was on Thursday killed in Somalia.}
Adan Garar died after the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a missile fired from a drone in Bardhere.
Two of his aides were also killed in the 2pm strike carried out by the United States forces.
He is the highest ranked Al-Shabaab commander to be killed since Ahmed Abdi Godane was eliminated in a similar strike in September last year.
The Kenyan military exchanged intelligence with the US forces before the operation was conducted.
Kenya Defence Forces, though in Somalia, did not take part in the strike since rules of engagement by the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) restrict the troops to Sector 2.
The strike happened in Sector 3, which is under Ugandan and Ethiopian troops.
CLOSE ALLY OF UBEID
Garar was a close ally of Ahmed Omar Abu Ubeid, the current overall leader of Al-Shabaab.
He was a member of Shura, which is the inner circle of the supreme leader and the highest decision-making body of the Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Information about the strike was received with celebrations across Kenya’s security circles because Garar was associated with other numerous terror activities in Kenya.
Garar is believed to have been the architect of two attacks in Mandera last year that left 64 people dead.
{{Daily Nation}}
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