Al-Qaeda Chief in Somalia killed by Airstrike

Welcome news from a troubled part of the world. Al-Qaeda had been making some gains in Somalia recently so the death of their leader Aden Hashi Ayro as a result of a US airstrile should bolster our efforts there:

Mr. Ayro was one of the most feared and notorious figures in Somalia, a short, wispy man believed to be in his 30s who had gone from lowly car washer to top terrorist suspect blamed for a string of atrocities, including ripping up an Italian graveyard, killing a BBC journalist and planning suicide attacks all across Somalia.

He was a military commander for the Shebab, an Islamist militia which the American government recently classified as a terrorist group, saying it was linked to Al Qaeda.

Somalia officials said his death could be a key turning point in defeating the Islamists, who have seized several towns in recent weeks, and in bringing peace to the country.

"This will definitely weaken the Shebab," said Mohamed Aden, consul for Somalia's embassy in Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya. "This will help with reconciliation. You can't imagine how many Somalis are saying, ‘Yes, this is the one.' The reaction is so good."

Maj. Sherri Reed, a spokeswoman for the United States Central Command in Tampa, Fla., confirmed that the military had attacked "a known Al Qaeda target" in the central Somalia town of Dhusamareb, but declined to give more details of the pre-dawn strike.

The attack was carried out by 4 Tomahawk cruise missiles that apparently found their target along with several of his top henchmen.

Ethiopia is still giving significant support to the anti-terrorist operations there in the form of ground troops and logistics. Let's hope that our combined efforts will roll back some recent successes of the extremists in taking over some provincial capitols and controlling large sections in the rural areas of Somalia.