US military says it killed al-Shabaab leader in Somali air strike

BOSASO, Somalia (Reuters) - The US military said it killed a leader of the Islamist militant al-Shabaab group with an air strike in Somalia over the weekend, while the insurgents claimed responsibility for a new attack.

Somalia's government said the leader was one of the co-founders of the al-Qaeda linked movement that has killed tens of thousands of people in bombings since 2006.

It named him as Abdullahi Nadir, al-Shabaab's chief prosecutor, who it said had been in line to replace the group's ailing leader, Ahmed Diriye. There was no immediate comment on the strike from al-Shabaab.

Nadir's "death is a thorn removed from the Somali nation," Somalia's information ministry said.

"The government is grateful to the Somali people and international friends whose cooperation facilitated the killing of this leader who was an enemy of the Somali nation."

The US Africa Command said it carried out the air strike near Jilib, about 370 km (230 miles) southwest in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday.