US officials declined to name the target of the strike, but CBS News and other US and African media said it was aimed at Adnan Garaar, a top al Shabaab official suspected of masterminding the 2013 attack on Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, killing 67.
The wide reporting of Garaar as the target prompted the US Embassy in Nairobi to caution U.S. citizens to be aware of their safety given the news accounts of the drone strike.