Somali police said on Saturday that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, one of Africa’s most wanted al Qaeda operatives, was killed in the capital of the Horn of Africa country earlier this week.

“We have confirmed he was killed by our police at a control checkpoint this week,” Halima Aden, a senior national security officer, told Reuters in Mogadishu.

Mohammed was shot at the checkpoint in an exchange of fire with police, Aden said.

“He had a fake South African passport and of course other documents. After thorough investigation, we confirmed it was him, and then we buried his corpse,” Aden said.