A United States military strike hit a vehicle carrying senior members of an al-Qaida-linked militant group in Somalia today, killing at least two people. An al-Shabab member who gave his name as Abu Mohamed said one of those killed was al-Shabab's top explosives expert, known as Anta. He said a drone was fired at the car in Somalia's Middle Juba region.
Two US officials confirmed for CNN that the strike was carried out by drones, and that one of those killed was "a person of interest we had been tracking." The strike is the latest sign that Western powers place increasing importance on counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia. (More Somalia stories.)