Kenya sent troops into Somalia to pursue al-Shabab, blaming it for a wave of abductions.
The al-Shabab militia confirmed that its leader, Aden Hashi Ayro, was killed along with several others.
On Friday he wrote that the leader of al-Shabab was sending in forces from multiple directions.
Kenya is a key component in the fight against the al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab.
Recent years have seen conflict between a UN-backed government and the al-Shabab Islamist militia.
The Ethiopians took Baidoa, the second-biggest town held by the Shabab, on February 22nd.
Rival anti-Shabab Somali administrations, based largely on clans, are entrenching themselves in their respective areas.
In November, Kenya accused al-Shabab of killing seven people in another grenade attack in the area.
Although they no longer hold territory in the city, the Shabab have not gone away altogether.
Al-Shabab was forced out of Mogadishu in August 2011 following an offensive by AU and government troops.
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Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group has been blamed for a spate of attacks in Kenya in recent years.
When you look at al-Shabab, they are people who are between the ages of 12 to 20.
The transitional government holds the capital, Mogadishu, while the Shabab still runs a swathe of territory around it.
Al-Shabab later acknowledged that the bomber had targeted Mr Ilig, whom it accused of co-operating with Western agencies.
Last month, Kenya accused al-Shabab of launching a grenade attack on a bus in Eastleigh, killing seven people.
At the same time Ethiopian and Kenyan troops have been hammering the Shabab from the west and south.
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The al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabab lost control of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, to AU and Somali government forces in 2011.
"If the problem of al-Shabab goes away, and we have some assistance, then we can go back, " he said.
John Prendergast of the Enough Project says similar U.S. air strikes have helped the radical militias like the al-Shabab.
In the event, despite an election-eve warning by al-Shabab, the poll went ahead smoothly in most of the country.
Al-Shabab denied there was a famine and banned several Western aid agencies from operating on territory under its control.
In any event, the Kenyan assault on the Shabab is a high-stakes gamble.
Pro-government forces have also seized control of most of the urban centres in southern and central Somalia from al-Shabab.
The Shabab says it downed a Kenyan military helicopter flying along the border last month, though Kenya denies it.
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African Union and Somali government forces took control of Mogadishu after al-Shabab withdrew.
That assistance from abroad is another division between the new president and al-Shabab.
Kenya sent troops to Somalia last year, saying that it wanted al-Shabab defeated because the militants threatened its security.
The non-Shabab parts of Somalia have every chance of seeing strong economic growth.
Still, he says he will not return home until the Shabab have gone.
In recent weeks, al-Shabab has lost ground to both Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, which have moved onto Somali territory.
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