The Pentagon is confirming that a U.S. airstrike killed the intelligence chief of the al-Shabab extremist group in Somalia.

In a brief statement Wednesday, the Pentagon said the strike killed Tahlil Abdishakur ('taw-leel obdee-shawkoor') on Monday. It said U.S. drone aircraft fired several Hellfire missiles to hit a vehicle carrying the al-Shabab intelligence chief.

The Somali government had announced the death on Tuesday but the Pentagon did not immediately confirm it.

The Pentagon said his death will "significantly impact" the group's ability to conduct attacks against the Somali government and its people, as well as U.S. allies in the region.

Al-Shabab is an ultra-conservative Islamic militant group that is linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network and wants to run Somalia by its strict interpretation of Shariah law.