Ahmed Abdi Godane — the leader of al Shabab, the Islamic militant organization behind the siege on a mall in Kenya last year — was killed in a U.S. military strike earlier this week, an al Shabab source told NBC News on Friday.

nbcnews.com

The al Shabab source told NBC News that Godane was among 11 militants killed. Also killed were an operations leader, a financial official and a military strategist for the organization, the source said.

“It’s a big win,” the U.S. security official said. “He was operationally savvy and ideologically driven, with aspirations off the charts.” The official said that nine Hellfire missiles and one 500-pound guided bomb had been used in the strike.