US missile strike 'kills al-Qaida leader'

The terrorist believed to be the head of al-Qaida in Somalia and 10 others have been killed in a US air attack.

Aden Hashi Ayro died when his house in the central Somali town of Dusamareeb, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu, was hit, said a spokesman for the Islamic al-Shabab militia which aims to impose Islamic law and launches daily attacks on the Somali government.

Another commander and seven others were also killed. Six more were wounded, two of whom later died.

A US defence official confirmed that the military launched a missile strike targeting Ayro at about 3am.

The attack came just before UN-sponsored peace talks are due to begin in Djibouti on May 10.

Analysts said the strike was likely to harden extremists and make it more difficult to appeal to moderate elements in the Islamist movement, which contains many clan members, and businessmen.

During the past year, the US has attacked several suspected extremists in Somalia.

Somali government officials have said Ayro trained in Afghanistan before the September 11 attacks and is the head of al-Qaida's cell in Somalia.

He was a key figure in the al-Shabab movement. Ayro also recently called for attacks on African peacekeepers in Somalia in a recording on an Islamic Web site.

The group has been repeatedly accused of harbouring international terrorists linked to al-Qaida.

America is concerned Somalia is a breeding ground for terrorist groups, particularly after the Islamic militants briefly gained control of the south and Osama bin Laden declared his support for them.

Fighting between government troops and the insurgents claimed thousands of lives last year and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.