US Strikes at Terror Target in Somalia

[Guest guest]

This is what I thought we should have been doing all along, although commando units would be more effective at wiping these camps out and collecting intelligence. If we had taken Afghanistan and then these little camps where they were found around the world, we could really hurt Al Quida and the other terrorists groups without getting tied up like we have in Iraq. We'd also have forces on hand to keep the likes of Chavez under control.

In a message dated 3/3/2008 4:39:54 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

As I had predicted a while back, before Bush leaves office, we would see more of these little strikes against terrorist targets.AdministratorIt's Tax Time! Get tips, forms and advice on AOL Money Finance.

[Guest guest]

As I had predicted a while back, before Bush leaves office, we would

see more of these little strikes against terrorist targets.

Administrator

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKQ6Hm0yuq8jNqzJY4rRkn0qzwhQD8V667B

G1

US Strikes at Terror Target in Somalia

By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN – 48 minutes ago

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The U.S. Navy fired at least one missile

into a southern Somali town before dawn Monday, targeting a terrorism

suspect as an Islamic group with links to al-Qaida appears to be

gathering sway again in this lawless African nation.

Residents and police in Dobley said at least eight people, including

four children, were seriously injured when a home was destroyed. The

attack was confirmed by U.S. officials, who said only that the target

was a " known al-Qaida terrorist. "

The U.S. military has staged several attacks on suspected extremists

in Somalia over the past year amid fears the Horn of Africa country

could become a haven for terrorists.

" As we have repeatedly said, we will continue to pursue terrorist

activities and their operations wherever we may find them, " Pentagon

spokesman Whitman said in Washington.

Whitman declined to provide any details, including the target's

identity, the fate of the targeted individual or reports of any other

casualties.

Another defense official told The Associated Press that the strike

used one or more Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a U.S. submarine

off Somalia's coast. The official spoke on condition of anonymity

because he wasn't authorized to discuss details.

White House spokesman Gordon droe told reporters that " the action

was to go after al-Qaida and al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, "

suggesting it may have been designed to hit more than one person.

Like Whitman, droe declined to provide any details.

One other 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.

A radical Islamic movement that ruled much of southern Somalia in

2006 took over Dobley last week, led by senior official Hassan Turki.

Turki, who is rarely seen in public, is on U.S. and U.N. lists of

suspected terrorists for alleged ties to al-Qaida. His fate after the

strike was not known.

People in Dobley, a town about four miles from the Kenyan border,

said the sound of explosions shook them awake before dawn Monday.

" When we came out we found our neighbor's house completely

obliterated as if no house existed here, " Fatuma Abdullahi told The

Associated Press. " We are taking shelter under trees. Three planes

were flying over our heads. "

The Islamic movement, the Council of Islamic Courts, seized control

of much of southern Somalia, including the capital, Mogadishu, in

2006. But in early 2007, troops loyal to the U.N.-backed interim

Somali government and the allied Ethiopian army defeated the Islamic

group.

The Islamic council now appears to be re-emerging.

On Monday, fighters linked to the group overran Bur Haqaba, a hilltop

town about 35 miles from the provincial capital of Baidoa in the

south. The group released prisoners from jail and killed a police

chief before retreating, witnesses said.

Last month, Islamic fighters briefly took over Dinsor in southern

Somalia, killing nine soldiers, police said.

The United States has repeatedly accused the Islamic group of

harboring international terrorists linked to al-Qaida and allegedly

responsible for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and

Tanzania.

America has been concerned Somalia could become a breeding ground for

terrorist groups, particularly after the Islamic militants briefly

gained control of the south and Osama bin Laden declared his support

for them.

The U.S. sent a small number of special operations troops to help the

Ethiopian force that drove the Islamic movement into hiding, and a

Navy warship shelled suspected al-Qaida targets. U.S. warplanes

staged at least two airstrikes in January 2007 in an attempt to kill

suspected al-Qaida members, Pentagon officials have said.

The U.S. Navy still patrols Somalia's 1,880-mile coast, which is the

longest in Africa. Somalia is near key shipping routes connecting the

Red Sea with the Indian Ocean and piracy is rampant in the waters

offshore.

The U.S. has avoided sustained military action in Somalia since it

led a U.N. force that intervened in the early 1990s in an effort to

fight famine. That mission led to clashes between U.N. forces and

Somali warlords, including a battle in Mogadishu that killed 18

American soldiers.

Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords

overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each

other. The current government was formed with U.N. help in 2004, but

it has struggled to assert any real control.

Associated Press writers ine Jelinek in Washington and

A. Kennedy in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.