A senior leader of the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab, Maalim Ayman, was killed in a U.S. military drone strike on December 17, according to Somali and American officials. Ayman was accused of planning multiple attacks, including the assault on a military base in Manda Bay, Kenya, in January 2020, which resulted in the deaths of two U.S. contractor pilots and a U.S. soldier. The strike, conducted by a U.S. Special Operations drone in a joint operation with the Somali national army, targeted Ayman near Jilib, a Shabab-controlled stronghold in southern Somalia.

Ayman was believed to be the mastermind behind a unit responsible for launching attacks inside Kenya, Somalia's southern neighbor. He was also said to have planned the attack on Garissa University in northeastern Kenya in 2015, which resulted in the deaths of 148 people, mostly students. The attack was deemed the deadliest terrorist attack in Kenya since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi.

Somalia, located in the strategic Horn of Africa region, has been facing attacks by al-Shabab since 2006, with the assistance of forces from the African Union and the United States. Despite losing territory and fighters in recent years, al-Shabab continues to carry out deadly attacks, targeting hotels, restaurants, and ministries, resulting in hundreds of casualties.

The United Nations Security Council recently lifted the arms embargo imposed on Somalia in 1992 after the outbreak of civil war. The Somali president welcomed this move, stating that it showcased the progress made by his administration. As part of the security transition, the African Union began withdrawing its forces from Somalia, and the Somali military and police forces have taken over managing the security of major government installations.

The American fight against al-Shabab began in 2014, initially with a small number of military advisers, and grew to a 700-member training force. In 2021, President Donald J. Trump withdrew the force; however, President Biden restored 450 of the troops last year to advise Somali soldiers in their fight against al-Shabab. Despite this, al-Shabab still controls significant portions of southern Somalia.

The drone strike on Ayman was a pre-planned operation by U.S. Special Operations forces, marking a relatively rare event. Most of the American strikes in Somalia this year have been in support of Somali troops fighting al-Shabab on the ground. The U.S. Africa Command, known as Africom, confirmed the strike in Somalia but did not officially identify the target, pending further analysis.

The Somali information minister, Daud Aweis, confirmed Ayman's killing and stated that he was the sole target of the strike. However, it was not immediately clear if anyone else was killed in the attack. The initial assessment by Africom indicated no civilian casualties. Somali and American officials described Ayman as the head of Jaysh Ayman, an al-Shabab unit involved in planning and executing terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia.

The Somali government sees Ayman's death as a message to those responsible for acts of violence against its people. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made defeating al-Shabab a priority, vowing to defeat the group both militarily and financially. The Somali government hopes that Ayman's demise will contribute to achieving cohesion and harmony within Somalia and with its neighbors.