( CNN ) A key Al-Shabaab operative , who was connected to the Westgate mall attack in Kenya , was killed recently by a U.S. drone strike , the Pentagon announced Wednesday . Adan Garar , a member of Al-Shabaab 's intelligence and security wing , was killed Thursday in southwestern Somalia as he traveled in a vehicle , according to Pentagon news release . Garar was responsible for `` coordinating the terror group 's external operations , which target U.S. persons and other Western interests in order to further al Qaeda 's goals and objectives , '' the Pentagon said in the statement . In September , Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was also killed in a U.S. airstrike near Barawe city . Al-Shabaab has been blamed and taken responsibility for attacks on city streets , at markets , at prisons and a U.N. compound in Mogadishu . It 's most high-profile attack came in 2013 at Nairobi 's upscale Westgate mall , when terrorists casually walked into the building , pulled out weapons and began gunning down shoppers . The gunmen were accused of torturing some hostages before killing them . As many as 67 people died in the siege .
Adan Garar , connected to the 2013 Westgate mall attack in Kenya , was riding in a vehicle that was struck from the air . He was killed in southwestern Somalia , the U.S. military said .