US launches fresh strikes in Somalia
ADDIS ABABA (Agencies) - Ethiopiaââ¬â¢s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Wednesday that a US airstrike on suspected Al-Qaeda targets in southern Somalia had killed eight ââ¬Återroristsââ¬Â and resulted in the capture of five.
However, speaking to reporters here, Meles said he could not confirm the identities of the dead and wounded and added that seven of 20 ââ¬Återroristsââ¬Â targeted in the airstrike seemed to have got away.
ââ¬ÅThe target was 20 terrorists, 13 of them are now out of action,ââ¬Â he said. ââ¬ÅThe remaining we donââ¬â¢t know where they are. Eight are dead and there are five wounded terrorists now under the control of our troops.ââ¬Â
Senior Al-Qaeda suspect Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, wanted for bombing American embassies in East Africa, was killed in a US airstrike, a Somali official said Wednesday, a report that if confirmed would mean the end of an eight-year hunt for a top target of Washingtonââ¬â¢s war on terrorism.
In Washington, US government officials said they had no reason to believe that the suspect had been killed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the informationââ¬â¢s sensitivity.
Earlier, Somali government officials and local clan elders reported new US airstrikes on suspected Al-Qaeda targets in the south on Wednesday, as the UN Security Council prepared to discuss moves to send in African peacekeepers.
ââ¬ÅThere were more airstrikes by the United States and they shall continue until terrorists are eliminated from that part of Somalia,ââ¬Â Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aidid told AFP.
The attacks were confirmed by a second senior Somali official who said areas ââ¬Åsuspected of being hideouts for the Islamists and their foreign fightersââ¬Â were hit, although a Pentagon official in Washington denied knowledge.
ââ¬ÅAttacks occurred in villages in Badade and Afmadow districts twice in several locations,ââ¬Â the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding there was no confirmed information about the number and identity of casualties.
Local clan elders in Badade and Afmadow informed colleagues in the nearby port of Kismayo about the strikes by radio, according to Kismayo resident Yusuf Ismail Aden.
The reports of fresh strikes near the Kenyan border came amid criticism of US military action in Somalia, which Washington says target Al-Qaeda operatives being sheltered by the countryââ¬â¢s defeated Islamist movement.
However, Somali Information Minister Ali Jama said he was unaware of any air operations other than those by Ethiopian forces who spearheaded the Somali governmentââ¬â¢s offensive against Islamist fighters which began last month.
The Pentagon denied US involvement in at least two later helicopter strikes in the region reported by the Somali defence ministry.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini on Wednesday backed the US campaign against Al-Qaeda, after the EU executive condemned the airstrikes
US foe Iran condemned the strike as a violation of international law while the United Nations condemned action that could worsen conflict in the Horn of Africa.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warned against the ââ¬Ånew dimension this kind of action could introduce to the conflictââ¬Â and the Security Council was due to meet Wednesday to discuss the situation and proposals for African peacekeepers.
Among Al-Qaeda militants held to be in Somalia are Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, whom the United States blame for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, mostly Africans.
Another suspect is Abu Taha al-Sudani, a Sudanese alleged to be an explosives expert close to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and whom the Somali government claimed led Islamist fighters in recent battles.
ââ¬ÅMany of them were killed in the last attack, but I do not have reports that Fazul was among them,ââ¬Â Jama told AFP. ââ¬ÅThat has to be confirmed by commanders on the ground.ââ¬Â
Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi on Wednesday ordered defeated Islamist fighters to gather in camps across the country, but remained silent on the US raids.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on an Ethiopian military vehicle in southern Mogadishu on Wednesday but missed and killed a female bystander instead, in the second such attack in two days, a witness said.
The US military has been active in the Horn of Africa for more than four years, operating from a former French Foreign Legion base in Djibouti to check the spread of Al-Qaeda and other Islamic militants.
The US military has mainly focused on developing military ties in the region, but went on the offensive this week with an air strike in southern Somalia that the Pentagon said targeted Al-Qaedaââ¬â¢s main leaders in the region.
The Pentagon has acknowledged that the attack was carried out by a fixed wing AC-130 gunship, but has been mum on virtually all other aspects of the operation, including who was hit.
The United States brushed aside international criticism Wednesday of US airstrikes against suspected Al-Qaeda figures in Somalia, saying the action was justified to prevent the anarchic Horn of Africa nation becoming a safe haven for terrorists.
ââ¬ÅThe United States took this action because we had information about the presence of senior Al-Qaeda leadersââ¬Â in Somalia, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
The Nation.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/jan-2007/11/index11.php