Thousands of people participated today in central Somalia at the protest against the U.S. attack on Thursday. The airstrike killed Aden Hashi Ayro, Al-Qaeda’s leader in the country, and 11 other people in the town of Dhusamareb.

The manifestation took place on the streets of the same town, which is a trading establishment with close to 100,000 people, situated at about 400 kilometres from the capital Mogadishu.

Aden Hashi Ayro was a military leader for the Shabab, which is well known for its terrorist activities. They are believed to be related through their training and fighting with Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda. He was one of the country’s most feared and notorious figures, being suspected of many atrocities amongst which planning suicide attacks and murder.

Apparently, U.S. military officials had been tracking Mr. Ayro for many weeks and the missiles fired off the Somali coast had a clear target in Al-Qaeda’s leader and also its top lieutenants. The set-up involved a small area of buildings in Dhusamareb, which was well known as a hide-out for the leader and his troops.

“This will definitely weaken the Shabab. This will help with reconciliation. You can’t imagine how many Somalis are saying, ‘Yes, this is the one.’ The reaction is so good,” said Mohamed Aden, consul for Somalia’s embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, according to the New York Times.

Over the past few years, U.S. troops have launched several attacks in Somalia. Allegedly, one of the airstrikes in January 2007 wounded Mr. Ayro.