WASHINGTON — The Pentagon confirmed Friday that Ahmed Godane, a founder of the al-Shabab Islamist group, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Somalia this week, calling it a “major symbolic and operational loss” for the organization affiliated with al-Qaida.
“We have confirmed that Ahmed Godane, the co-founder of al-Shabab, has been killed,” Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.