The radical Islamist militant group al-Shabaab has vowed revenge for the killing of its leader by a US airstrike on Somalia, and named a successor, according to broadcaster Al Jazeera.
In a message given to the Qatar-based broadcaster, the group declared on Saturday that it would never give up or forget its solemn obligation to avenge the death of Ahmed Godane, the co-founder of al-Shabaab.
It said that Godane's successor, Ahmed Umar, had been named in a unanimous decision, according to BBC broadcaster.
Godane had claimed credit for ordering the deadly attack in 2013 on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi that killed 67 people. That attack was claimed to have avenged Kenyan and Western action against al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Godane was killed on Monday in the US strike, but his death was not certain until the Pentagon and Somali government confirmed it Friday.
On Saturday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta thanked the United States for killing Godane.
"We owe the United States and its soldiers our heartfelt thanks for bringing an end to Godane's career of death and destruction and finally allowing us to begin our healing process," he said in a statement quoted by the Daily Nation.
On Friday, Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, confirmed that Godane had been killed, as did the Somali government.
"Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to al-Shabaab," Kirby said.
The Somali government's nearly decade-long conflict with al-Shabaab has cost thousands of lives.
Somali National Security Ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf told dpa: "His death is great news for the Somali people, because he was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people in his so-called holy war." The White House said the killing of Godane was the result of years of intelligence, defence and law enforcement work.
Al-Shabaab has conducted frequent bombings within Somalia and also claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Uganda in 2010 that killed more than 70 people.
About five years ago, al-Shabaab controlled most of southern and central Somalia and even parts of Mogadishu. Despite being militarily weakened since then, in part by the Kenyan military, the group still wields power in the south and centre of the country.
It seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and has had an alliance with al-Qaeda since 2012.
Yusuf said Friday that Godane "deserved to face justice, and now justice has been done." Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the US air strike had been conducted "with the full knowledge and agreement" of the Somali government.
"This is an international battle against the scourge of terrorism and the government and the people of Somalia greatly value the support of our international allies," the statement said.
The president reiterated an earlier government offer of amnesty to al-Shabaab members if they surrender within 45 days.
He declared that al-Shabaab was "collapsing," while Somali and African Union forces were "clearing the remaining pockets of al-Shabaab out of the countryside."
