The death of the Al Qaida commanders came as Al Shabab has expanded operations in Somalia. After being driven out by the Ethiopian Army in December 2006, Al Shabab has captured several Somali towns and seized weapons from the nation's military.

Ayro received his training in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. Al Shabab reported the death of Ayro as well as his colleagues.

Hours after the assassination, the U.S. Defense Department confirmed the attack in Somalia. The Pentagon did not identify the Al Qaida target.

"When you have something like this, there is a certain amount of analysis that goes on," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "While you are conducting that analysis, you want to be careful not to provide any information that potentially could be of use to the enemy."

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