US and Somali forces kill al-Shabaab commander with $10m bounty on head

Maalim Ayman was wanted over attack on airbase in Kenya in 2020 that left three Americans dead

Somali troops and US forces have killed a senior commander of the al-Shabaab militant group who had a $10m bounty on his head over an attack that left three Americans dead.

“Maalim Ayman, a senior leader of al-Shabaab, was confirmed to have been killed in a joint operation by the Somali National Army with assistance from US forces on December 17th,” Kenya’s information minister, Daud Aweis, said on X on Thursday.