A senior Al-Shabaab intelligence commander is suspected to have been killed in a drone strike by the United States in south Somalia on Thursday evening, local authorities said.

Mohamed Ali, a local district commissioner in Garbaharey town, said the drone strike hit two vehicles carrying three senior Al- Shabaab commanders to Gedo region along the Somalia-Kenya border.

"The strike was targeting one of the senior intelligence commanders, Aden Garar and his team," said Ali.

Residents in the area said they heard huge explosions. Witnesses said the two vehicles were completely destroyed.

The strike happened a few hours after Al-Shabaab launched an attack at a regional administration headquarters in central Somalia, killing 10 people and injuring scores of others.

The US has carried out a number of air strikes targeting the militant group and killed some of its top leaders.

The Al-Qaeda linked group has not commented on the matter and neither the government in Mogadishu.