The strike took place on Tuesday about 10 kilometers (six miles) southwest of the town of Quyno Barrow, south of Mogadishu, the United States Africa Command (US AFRICOM) said in a statement.

The strike was conducted "in coordination" with Somalia's federal government, it said.

"The command will continue to assess the results of the operation and provide additional information as appropriate," the statement said, providing no further details.

The Somalian government issued a statement lauding a "meticulously planned operation" that was conducted alongside "international partners" in the same district.

That statement said the operation "has successfully eliminated the terrorist ring leader Mohamed Mire Jama, also known as Abu Abdirahman, in the Kunyo-Barow district of Lower Shabelle province."

Somalia is one of the poorest countries on the planet, enduring decades of civil war, a bloody insurgency by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab, and frequent climate disasters.

Washington has invested massively for several decades in the fight against the insurgency.

During his first term, US President-elect Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from Somalia, a decision reversed by his successor Joe Biden.

Earlier this week, Egypt said it was joining a new African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

The mandate of the current African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) ends on December 31, and it will make way for a new force against the Al-Shabaab insurgents, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).