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View Full Version : U.S. Airstrikes in Somalia


Sdiver
03-03-2008, 12:28
Looks as if those AQ's trying to hide, have been found.....again. :lifter


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080303/ap_on_re_af/somalia

US strikes Somali town, targets al-Qaida
By PAULINE JELINEK


WASHINGTON - The U.S. military attacked a "known al-Qaida terrorist" in southern Somalia, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.

Spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters that the attack was launched on Sunday, local time, but he declined to provide any details, including whether the targeted individual was hit or whether there were any other casualties.

Whitman also would not identify or further describe the targeted individual or say how the attack was carried out.

It was not entirely clear whether the U.S. strike was aimed at a single individual. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters, "the action was to go after al-Qaida and al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists," suggesting that it may have been designed to hit more than one person.

Like Whitman, Johndroe declined to provide any details.

Somali police said three missiles hit a Somali town held by Islamic extremists, destroying a home and seriously injuring eight people.

Whitman said the attack was launched in accordance with standard U.S. policy.

"As we have repeatedly said, we will continue to pursue terrorist activities and their operations wherever we may find them," the spokesman said. "We do work very closely with our partners in the region in the conduct of our military operations." He declined to say if he was referring to Somalia in this case.

One U.S. military official said the target was believed to have been staying in a building known to be used regularly by terrorist suspects. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the record.

The strike follows one last year in which the U.S. shelled suspected al-Qaida targets in Somalia, using gunfire from a U.S. Navy ship off the shore of the lawless East African nation.

Aoresteen
03-03-2008, 13:49
Looks as if those AQ's trying to hide, have been found.....again. :lifter


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080303/ap_on_re_af/somalia

:D:D:D:

More to come!

Sdiver
03-03-2008, 14:41
The latest, from FOX news.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334531,00.html

U.S. forces struck an Al Qaeda training camp in southern Somalia Monday, and officials say the target was a notorious Al Qaeda operative whom FOX News has exclusively determined to be Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan.

Nabhan is wanted for questioning in connection with a hotel resort homicide bombing in Mombasa, Kenya, five years ago, and for a shoulder-fired missile attack on an Israeli passenger liner.

Monday's attack on Nabhan was executed with two missiles fired from a U.S. Navy vessel at sea, off the coast of Somalia, FOX News has learned.

Planes fired at least one precision-guided missile at the Somali town of Dobley, a senior U.S. defense official told FOX News.

"On March 2 the U.S. conducted an attack against a known Al Qaeda terrorist in southern Somalia," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said in a statement. "As we have repeatedly said, we will continue to pursue terrorists' activities and their operations wherever we may find them."

There was no immediate word on casualties, but the residents and police told The Associated Press that a home was destroyed and eight people, including four children, were injured.

U.S. officials at Central Command said the overnight strike targeted fewer than 20 Al Qaeda terrorists.

They were assessing the damage done by the attack and digging through the rubble on Monday, and said they'd know more about its success later in the day.

The missiles that struck Dobley, some four miles from the Kenyan border, were from military aircraft. Remnants of an Islamic force that had once ruled much of southern Somalia took over Dobley last week.

Last year, the U.S. shelled suspected Al Qaeda targets in Somalia, one of the most lawless and violent countries in the world.

A police officer who gave only his first name, Siyad, because he was not authorized to speak to the media said the eight wounded were hit by shrapnel. He also said the planes were military aircraft.

An aid worker in Dobley said up to six people were still trapped in the rubble at midday. It was not clear if these victims were included in the police officer's tally.

"A minimum of two bombs were dropped," the aid worker, who asked that his name not be used because he is not authorized to speak to the media, told the AP by telephone. "Between four and six people are in the rubble."

Clan elder Ahmed Nur Dalab said a senior Islamic official, Hassan Turki, was in town Sunday to mediate between his fighters and a militia loyal to the government. Turki's forces took over Dobley last week.

In early 2007, Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies drove out a radical Islamic group to which Turki is allied that had taken over much of southern Somalia. The Islamic forces have fought to regain power.

Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.