A senior Somali militant who had a USD 5 million US bounty on his head has been killed in infighting among members of the al Qaeda-aligned group Al- Shabaab, a spokesman for the group said.
Ibrahim Al Afghani was killed along with another top member, Moalim Burhan, in a shootout between two factions of the Al-Shabaab on June 20, CNN quoted the group spokesman Abu Musab as saying.
Musab said the two men were killed when Al-Shabaab fighters tried to arrest them for supporting foreign jihadists and the pair fought back. He said Al Afghani and Burhan were not killed intentionally.
Al Afghani was wanted for terrorism by the US State Department, which offered a reward of up to USD 5 million for information leading to his location.
A US administration official said the United States believes the report of his death is true, the report said.
It is the first time Al-Shabaab has confirmed the killing of two of its most senior members.
The internal fighting in Al-Shabaab is between two groups, one loyal to founding member Ahmed Godane and another, smaller faction that supports foreign jihadists in Somalia. It began about a month ago when a member of the smaller group was targeted in a tea shop, allegedly by members from the other side.
Al Afghani and Burhan were both members of the smaller faction.
The main Al-Shabaab group denies there is infighting and blames reports of a split on local media.
