Pentagon confirms US airstrikes killed head of ISIS in Libya and senior al-Shabaab leader in Somalia

The Pentagon has confirmed the death of Abu Nabil

The Pentagon has confirmed that one of ISIS's top commanders in Libya was killed in a U.S. airstrike last month.

The operation to kill Iraqi national Abu Nabil in the eastern port city of Darnah was conceived before terrorists went on a rampage in the French capital, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

It is believed the commander had previously been governor of Salah-ad-din province in Iraq before he was dispatched to ISIS's franchise in Libya. 

There has also been speculation that Abu Nabil was the man who threatened the West in the ISIS propaganda video in which 21 Coptic Christians were executed on a Libyan beach. 

Mr Cook said: 'Nabil's death will degrade ISIS' ability to meet the group's objectives in Libya, including recruiting new ISIS members, establishing bases in Libya and planning external attacks on the United States.

Mr Cook said the strike was the first U.S. raid against an ISIS leader in the country and demonstrates that the will 'go after ISIS leaders wherever they operate'. 

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It has been speculated that the American accented executor in the ISIS propaganda video was Abu Nabil

ISIS released a propaganda video showing the execution of Coptic Christians on the beaches of Libya

Strike: The U.S. attack is said to have taken place in Darnah, a coastal city under militant control. ISIS lost control of the city back in June

Another U.S. official said the strike by an F-15 fighter jet took place shortly after the Paris terrorist attacks began on November 13, but had been planned for some time.

The Pentagon also confirmed that a top al-Shabaab military commander was killed in a U.S. airstrike on December 2.

Abdirhaman Sandhere, also known as 'Ukash', was heavily involved in operations in Barawa, Lower Shebelle and was assassinated in the village of Kunyo Barrow, near Mogadishu.

Fierce clashes between Al-Shabaab fighters and ISIS turncoats have left at least 20 foreign militants dead in Somalia. 

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis confirmed that a senior leader of the al Qaeda-affiliated group al Shabaab was killed in a U.S. military air strike in Somalia carried out on December 2.

The operation to kill Iraqi national Abu Nabil in the eastern port city of Darnah was conceived before terrorists went on a rampage in the French capital, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said

Another U.S. official said the strike by an F-15 fighter jet took place shortly after the Paris terrorist attacks began on November 13, but had been planned for some time

It has been speculated that Abu Nabil features in the execution video (pictured right, wearing black)

ISIS fighters lead hostages down the beach before escaping them in a propaganda video in Libya

'Ukash's removal from the battlefield is a significant blow to al-Shabaab and reflects the painstaking work by our intelligence, military, and law enforcement professionals,' Davis said. 

'This is an important step forward in the fight against al-Shabaab, and the United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal- financial, diplomatic, intelligence and military - to dismantle al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups who threaten United States, interests and persons.'

The news comes as a veteran al-Shabaab fighter gave himself up in Barawe, Somalia after he fled the group following his decision to pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda's rivals ISIS.

The fighter is believed to be an American national, who had been fighting with the al-Qaeda linked group for several years in Somalia. He is not thought to speak any Somali.

The man admitted to taking part in the horrific terror attack at Garissa university in Kenya, which left 148 people dead. 

'We caught a man whose body complexion was white with long beard,' said Lower Shebelle district commissioner Hussein Mohamed Barre.

'When we interrogated him he told us that he has escaped from al-Shabaab and was willing to surrender himself to the Somali government, he has identified his nationality as an American,' he told Radio Dalsan.

The fighter is believed to be an American national, who had been fighting with the al-Qaeda linked group for several years in Somalia. He is not thought to speak any Somali

A member of Somalia's al Shabaab militant group sits during a public demonstration to announce their integration with al Qaeda in 2012

al-Shabaab has attracted foreign fighters, including Americans, in the past, most notably, Omar Hammami, also known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki. He was killed in an ambush following a dispute with al-Shabaab figures in September 2013