The United States continues to bomb both Islamist positions in Iraq and Somalia in attempt to deter advances by ISIS in Iraq and al-Shabab in Somalia. In the Somalia strike, the U.S. killed the leader of al-Shabab, Ahmed Godane.

In a statement released by the Department of Defense, the government confirmed that Godane was dead on Friday.

"We have confirmed that Ahmed Godane, the co-founder of al-Shabaab, has been killed. The U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which led to his death. Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to al-Shabaab. The United States works in coordination with its friends, allies and partners to counter the regional and global threats posed by violent extremist organizations," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

The strike came days after the African Union commenced "Operation Indian Ocean," a mission to recover various Somali ports from al-Shabab control, according to the Guardian. The operation also hoped to target al-Shabab's coal exports, which bring in millions for the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group.

The Somali government welcomed the death of Godane, who had been the group's leader since 2008.

"The Somalia federal government welcomes the death of the leader of the terrorist group al-Shabaab, Ahmed Godane," said Somalia's defense minister, Mohamed Hassan Hamud.

However, al-Shabab has bounced back and has already chosen a new leader, reports the Daily Star. The Somali terrorist group chose Ahmad Umar, otherwise known as Abu Ubaidah, as the group's leader.

However, the U.S. has also continued strikes against ISIS positions in Iraq, though they do not target leaders but military positions. The Pentagon released a statement on Sunday confirming strikes against ISIS positions near Haditha Dam.

"At the request of the Government of Iraq, the U.S. military on Saturday conducted coordinated airstrikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists in the vicinity of the Haditha Dam in Anbar province. We conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under control of Iraqi Security Forces, with support from Sunni tribes," Rear Adm. Kirby said.

Kirby added that the U.S. would continue airstrikes as needed by the Iraqi government.