The group’s leader, Abu Zubeyr, and his driver died on 1^st  December, 2014, when a vehicle they were travelling in hit by drone strike in Barawe town, some 220km (120 miles) South of Somali capital Mogadishu.

Zubeyr’s death was confirmed by Al Shabaab.Godane, who received training and fought in Afghanistan, was designated as terrorist by the United States.

The death of Godane, who only succeeded in consolidating his control of the group by killing or driving out his major critics and potential rivals, have led Al Shabab to split into different factions.

Al-Shabab announced Godane’s immediate successor, Ahmad Diriye, known as Abu Ubeida within a week of his death after meeting in Jilib town in south of Somalia.

Abu Ubeida reportedly played an instrumental leadership role in the purge of dissidents from the group in 2013.Since his death, the group’s fighters rumpped up its deadly attacks on Somali army forces with African Union troops’ camps in south and central Somalia.

Last year, Abu Mansoor Mukhtar Robow, an elusive, charismatic militant who was once a senior commander of Al Shabaab in Somalia, surrendered to government forces  in a surprise move that could weaken the country’s Islamist militants.

Al-Shabab has been waging an insurgency in Somalia for more than 10 years.

A 22,000-strong African Union force is in the country to help the government fight the al-Qaeda-linked militants.