US strike targets al-Qaeda in Somalia

Senior al-Qaeda members suspected of involvement in 2002 embassy bombings targeted in US operation. CBS reports many killed, unsure if targets eliminated

Yitzhak Benhorin|Published: 01.09.07 , 07:22

WASHINGTON – A United States military plane attacked senior al-Qaeda officials in Somalia Monday night.

The attack's main target was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a senior commander in the organization's East African branch. Mohammed is wanted by the FBI for his suspected involvement in US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, in which 241 people were killed.

Other targets of the attack were terrorists suspected of involvement in the "Paradise Hotel" bombing in Mombasa on 28 November 2002. Fifteen people were killed in the attack, including three Israeli's. The terrorists were also suspected of involvement in attempts to shoot down an Arkia plane later that day using two missiles.

Monday's US military attack was carried out using an AC-130 gunship. Pentagon sources told the American CBS network, which exposed the story, that many bodies could be seen on the ground following the attack, although the names of those killed were not yet known.

The gunship used in the attack took off from an air base in Djibouti and made its way to the tip of southern Somalia, which was where al-Qaeda terrorists took refuge after being chased out of their strongholds by the Ethiopian army in collaboration with US forces.

Assuming the operation was successful, it would be a hard blow to al-Qaeda in East Africa.

Al-Qaeda hoped to turn Somalia into its stronghold, as it had done with Afghanistan for several years. The US considers removing Muslim rebels from Somalia an important step in fighting world terror.

Islamic forces become easier target

The US received warnings that al-Qaeda connected extremists were operating a training base in Somalia's Ras Kamboni as early as 2001, following the 11 September attacks.

Three of the al-Qaeda suspects wanted for their part in the US embassy bombings were leaders of the local Islamic movement. Recently, the Ethiopian army was successful in removing Islamic extremists from Somalia's capital, following years of occupation. The Islamic forces became a much easier target after having to flee.

According to CBS's exclusive report Monday, the US was using unmanned aerial drones to keep al-Qaeda members under surveillance and moving the aircraft carrier Eisenhower out of the Persian Gulf toward Somalia. But when the order was given, the mission was assigned to the AC-130 gunship operated by the US Special Operations command.

Also according to the report, Somali officials said the Islamic movement's main force is bottled up at Ras Kamboni, the southernmost tip of the country, cut off from escape at sea by patrolling US warships and across the Kenyan border by the Kenyan military.