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FARAHABDIWARSAMEH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Al-Shabab fighters prepare to travel into Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2008. ByRobertBurns TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON U.S. air- strikes earlier this week killed the leader of the al- Shabab terrorist group in Somalia, the Pentagon said Friday. President Barack Obama said the death of Ahmed Abdi Godane dem- onstrated U.S. counterter- rorism resolve and was an example of his deliberate approach to dismantling al-Qaida affiliated groups. The Pentagon's press secretary, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, announced the death in a brief written statement. It took the Pen- tagon four days to conclu- sively determine that Go- dane had not survived Mon- day's airstrikes. Al-Shabab has not con- firmed Godane's death. Somali President Has- san Sheikh Mohamud urged al-Shabab militants to renounce violence, say- ing they have an opportu- nity to embrace peace fol- lowing Godane's death. "While an extreme hard- core may fight over the lead- ership of al-Shabab, this is a chance for the majority of members of al-Shabab to change course and reject Godane's decision to make them the pawns of an inter- national terror campaign," he said in a statement. The Somali president said the U.S. operation was carried out "with the full knowledge and agreement of" his government and that Somalis "greatly value the support of our interna- tional allies" in the fight against al-Shabab. Obama, speaking at the conclusion of a NATO sum- mit in Newport, Wales, told reporters the success against al-Shabab should leave no doubt about his determination to degrade and eventually destroy the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. military announced later Friday that a mix of fighter jets, drones, attack planes and bombers launched four airstrikes Thursday and Friday in northern Iraq, destroying a host of Islamic State tar- gets including an observa- tion post, an armed vehicle and three mortar positions. U.S. officials had said after the strike on Mon- day that U.S. special opera- tions forces using manned and drone aircraft had de- stroyed an encampment and a vehicle using several Hellfire missiles and laser- guided munitions. USconfirmsdeath of a l- Sh ab ab l ea de r EAST AFRICA By Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press NEWPORT, WALES The U.S. and 10 of its key allies agreed Friday that the Is- lamic State group is a sig- nificant threat to NATO countries and that they will take on the militants by squeezing their financial resources and going after them with military might. With the Islamic State militants spreading across eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq, Presi- dent Barack Obama noted that the moderate Syrian rebels fighting both the group and the government of Bashar Assad are "out- gunned and outmanned." In addition to the action pledged by fellow NATO leaders, he pressed Arab allies to reject the "ni- hilism" projected by the group.. The new NATO coali- tion will be able to mount a sustained effort to push back the militants, Obama said. The U.S. secretaries of State and Defense, meeting with their counterparts at the international gather- ing, insisted the Western nations build a plan by the time the U.N. General As- sembly meets this month. "I did not get any resis- tance or pushback to the basic notion that we have a critical role to play in roll- ing back this savage orga- nization that is causing so much chaos in the region and is harming so many people and poses a long- term threat to the safety and security of NATO members," Obama said at the summit conclusion. "So there's great conviction that we have to act, as part of the international com- munity, to degrade and ul- timately destroy ISIL, and that was extremely encour- aging." Laying out a strategy for Iraq, Obama hinted at a broader military cam- paign, likening it to the way U.S. forces pushed back al-Qaida along Paki- stan's border with Afghani- stan, taking out the group's leadership, shrinking its territory and pounding at its militant followers. To do that, the U.S. used persis- tent airstrikes, usually by CIA drones. So far, U.S. airstrikes in Iraq have been largely limited to helping Kurdish forces and protecting refu- gees. But Obama has set a goal of dismantling and de- stroying the Islamic State, and said Friday that the U.S. will continue to hunt down the militants just as it did with al-Qaida and with al-Shabab in Somalia. Said Obama: "I think it is absolutely critical that we have Arab states and specifically Sunni-major- ity states that are reject- ing the kind of extremist nihilism that we're seeing out of ISIL, that say that is not what Islam is about and are prepared to join us ac- tively in the fight." The Islamic State group espouses a radical form of Sunni Islam and initially invaded Iraq to fight its Shiite government. "What we can accom- plish is to dismantle this network, this force that has claimed to control this much territory, so that they can't do us harm," Obama said. He added that U.S. ground troops in Syria are not needed to accomplish the goal, but instead can work with moderate part- ners on the ground in the country. TERRORISM Al li es a gr ee o n Is la mi c St at e th re at CHARLES DHARAPAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Barack Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands at their meeting at the NATO summit at Celtic Manor, Newport, Wales, on Friday. The Associated Press VATICAN CITY Pope Fran- cis has sought to encourage Iraq's beleaguered Chris- tians under threat from Islamic militants, saying they are the "heart" of the church and that the church is proud of them. In comments trans- lated into Arabic during his weekly Wednesday general audience, Francis said the Catholic Church is like a mother, and like any mother will "defend her de- fenseless and persecuted children." Thousands of Christians have been forced from their homes by Islamic State mil- itants who have carved out a self-styled caliphate in the large area straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border that it now controls. Francis has said it was legitimate to use force to stop the militants, but that the international commu- nity should decide how to do so. He said: "The church suf- fers with you and is proud of you." VATICAN Pope tells Iraqi Christians they are church's 'heart' 2 Bud's BBQ Acorn Construction Alsco, Inc. Andy Houghton Insurance Antelope C. Farm Antelope Self Storage Bakin Tree Service Battle Creek Pest Control Bear Creek Contractors Bickley's Heating & Air Bill & Frances Bonham Bill Treat Photography Bud's Jolly Kone Burger Shack Cal Fire California Almond Packers Chico Farm & Orchard Chrasta Orchards Cornerstone Community Bank Cozy Diner Creative Works Concrete Crown Nursery, LLC CTS4TAXES Cumpton Trucking Dale's Carpet Design Dan & Nina Micke Darwin F. Kremer, DDS Dave's Tractor David A. Rogers Attorney at Law Descreet Defense Dignity Health-St. Elizabeth's Hospital Don Delaney-Preferred Agents Dudley's Excavating Inc. 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