Virginized.

(Reuters) – A suspected U.S. drone strike killed at least two Islamist al Shabaab insurgents driving in a car south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, residents said on Monday.

The drone fired a missile at the car in the outskirts of Jilib town in the Middle Jubba region, some 120 km to the north of the port of Kismayu to the south.

Although the United States does not report its activities in Somalia, drones have been used in recent years to kill Somali and foreign al Shabaab fighters.

Western nations are worried that Somalia will sink back into chaos and provide a launchpad for Islamist militancy despite a fragile recovery after two decades of war.

“This afternoon, I heard a big crash and saw a drone disappearing far into the sky, at least two militants died,” said Hassan Nur a resident in the area.

Update:

(NBC News) – A senior U.S. military official has confirmed that a military drone attack Monday afternoon killed two top leaders of the al Qaeda-linked terror group that massacred civilians at a Nairobi, Kenya mall last month.

The official said that the attack on a single vehicle in southern Somalia had killed two leaders of al Shabaab, including its most important explosives expert, a man named Anta. The official did not identify the second man killed.

A car carrying the two leaders was struck by Hellfire missiles fired from a Predator, said the official, who contended that no one outside the vehicle was killed.