The Hill News

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the al-Qaeda militant allegedly behind the deadly 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, was killed in Somalia, according press reports.

A spokesman for Somalia’s information minister said Somali security forces killed him several days ago, according to AP.

AP and Reuters quote an unnamed senior U.S. official confirming the death. 

"This is a big win for global counterterrorism efforts," the official said in AP's item.

"We commend the good work by the (Somali government forces)," the official added in the AP account. "This is a very big deal. Fazul's death removes one of the terrorist group's most experienced operational planners in East Africa and has almost certainly set back operations.”

Mohammed, who is on the FBI’s most wanted list, allegedly plotted the August 1998 bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania that killed over 220 people.