The Pentagon has issued a statement confirming a US military airstrike against Saakow, Somalia today, with an eye toward killing an unnamed senior leader in al-Shabaab.

Though officials didn't say who they targeted, they did say it wasn't Shabaab leader Ahmad Umar. They also didn't say if they got who they were aiming at, though they did say they don't believe any civilians were killed.

US airstrikes against Somalia happen every few months, usually aimed at an al-Shabaab leader of some sort, though only once in awhile, as with the September 1 strike, do they actually hit their intended target.

Such killings rarely have a tangible impact on the situation in Somalia at any rate, as al-Shabaab seems able to replace even its top leadership without serious harm coming to their overall operations.