Several people were wounded in the blast that occurred in Mogadishu's Hamarweyne district, a busy area with shops and restaurants, officials say.
US Africa Command said the air strike near Jilib in Middle Juba region against Al Shabab militants followed an attack on Somali forces.
Police said they had arrested nine suspects, in addition to the two arrested on Wednesday, including a man initially thought to have been among the dead attackers.
Kenya's police chief Joseph Boinnet says six more bodies were found at the luxury hotel targeted by Al Shabab, the militant group that says the attack was in retaliation to US declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The attack on a hotel complex in Kenyan capital Nairobi is not an isolated event but rather the latest episode in the continuation of the war between Kenya and Al Shabab.
A huge blast followed by a gun battle rocked an upmarket hotel and office complex in Nairobi in an attack claimed by Somali group Al Shabab. Officials gave no figures on the dead and wounded.
In Kenya, East Africa’s richest economy per capita, Uber competes with Estonian ride-hailing firm Taxify, Nairobi-based Mondo Ride and Little, which has a partnership with telecoms operator Safaricom.
A fire at Nairobi's Gikomba market has killed at least 15 people, a government official said. The fire spread from the market to nearby apartments and makeshift housing before it was brought under control.
They say one man's trash is another man's treasure. A Kenyan has taken this message to heart. He's using discarded items to create works of art.
''Africa is not a country'' goes the popular meme, and in fact, there are 55 states on the continent. Negotiating a common pan-African position on free trade is a massive undertaking, and informs us why Africa lacks leverage on the global stage.
The US Secretary of State had been due to visit the site of the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi, having arrived in Kenya on Friday.
Miguna Miguna is the second person to be arrested in connection with the mock "swearing-in" of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world.
Copyright © 2021 TRT World.