At least 30 members of Somalia's al Qaeda-affiliated Shebab militants were killed in a US drone strike on Thursday, the Kenyan government said, while backtracking on its earlier claim that the alleged mastermind of the Garissa University massacre was among the dead. "Over 30 were killed, among them most wanted terrorists," Kenyan interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka said.
He said that "several masterminds" of a string of recent attacks inside Kenya were killed, but retracted his earlier statement that the mastermind of the April Garissa University massacre - Mohamed Mohamud, also known by the aliases of Dulyadin, Kuno and Gamadhere - was among the dead. "It was a US drone. Kenyan forces usually provide ground support, information and intelligence on such strikes," the spokesman said.