Drone strike kills at least two in Somalia - residents

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.

"I witnessed a Suzuki car burning, many al Shabaab men came to the scene. I could see them carry the remains of two corpses. It was a heavy missile that the drone dropped. Many cars were driving ahead of me but the drone targeted this Suzuki," he added.

Other residents at the scene also said they had seen the strike. Somalia officials and police were not immediately available to comment about the hit, largely because the rebels control a vast area around where the drone struck.

Al Shabaab officials declined to comment.

It was likely the strike was aimed at a senior official of the rebel group travelling in the vehicle.

Al Shabaab, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, said in January 2011 that a missile launched from a drone had killed Bilal el Berjawi, a Lebanese al Shabaab fighter who held a British passport.

Another missile killed four foreign militants south of the Somali capital Mogadishu in February 2012.

Al Shabaab were driven out of Mogadishu in late 2011 and are struggling to hold on to territory elsewhere in the face of attacks by Kenyan, Ethiopian and African Union forces trying to prevent Islamist militancy spreading out from Somalia.

Reuters