Somali pres. confirms al-Qaida mastermind death

Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s president is congratulating government soldiers for killing the al-Qaida mastermind behind the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said Sunday that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was hiding in Somalia and was responsible for violence in the Horn of Africa nation.

Ahmed showed reporters documents, pictures and videos he said government troops recovered from Mohammed.

Mohammed was on FBI’s most wanted list and had a $5 million bounty on his head for allegedly planning the Aug. 7, 1998, embassy bombings. The blasts killed 224 people.

His death is the third major strike in six weeks against the worldwide terror group that was headed by Osama bin Laden until his death last month.