Somali and American officials today said that the leader of Somali militant group Shabab have been targeted and killed in the airstrike launched by the US forces.

Shahab has joined hands with banned global terror outfit Al Qaeda and has gained control of huge parts of Somalia.

The US officials said the strike happened around 7:45pm on Monday night on a small village near Barawe, which is dominated by Shabab. They added that the Shabab leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was present inside one of the vehicles which was targeted by the US forces.

"Several cars were destroyed and Godane may have been in one of them," said a Somali official. "We are awaiting results from our secret services," he added.

One American official in Nairobi said that "we're 80 percent sure" Godane was killed in the airstrike. "There were no boots on the ground," said the American official. The official remarked that they had received credible information that several senior Shabab leaders, including Godane, were planning to meet at a location targeted by American commandos.

Godane is one of the most wanted figures in Africa and it is believed that he was involved in countless attacks on civilians, including the massacre of dozens of shoppers at a mall in Nairobi last year.

Godane unleashed terror inside Somalia for several years, organizing the stoning of teenage girls and public amputations. When famine hit Somalia in 2011, it was Godane who ordered Shabab fighters to block food supplies to starving people and diverted rivers from famine-affected population. Godane also organized suicide attacks in Kenya and Uganda.