A drone strike by US military forces in southern Somalia has reportedly killed a suspected member of the al-Shabab militant group.

Pentagon chief spokesman Steve Warren confirmed that the operation was carried out south of Mogadishu.

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Warren said: "We are currently assessing the results of the operation."

The Wall Street Journal cited US officials as saying that the target of the attack was Adan Garar, an al-Shabaab leader believed to have been involved in Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi in 2013 that killed more than 60 people.

"He was killed together with his driver in the remote area of southern Somalia."

Somalia national security and intelligence ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf confirmed that Garaar has been killed when the drone strike hit his vehicle.

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Yusuf said: "He was killed together with his driver in the remote area of southern Somalia."

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The latest unmanned US aircraft attack is the fourth since September 2014 against the Somalia-based militant group.

In September 2014, the group’s commander Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in an attack launched by US drones and other military aircraft near Barawe and intelligence chief Tahlil Abdishakur was killed in December.

Earlier this year, al-Shabab’s head of external operations was killed in a drone strike, reported The Washington Post.