US strike against al-Qaeda in Somalia
Pastor Dale Morgan
US strike against al-Qaeda in Somalia*
From correspondents in Washington
January 25, 2007 09:59am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
US official has confirmed that US military forces carried out a second
air strike in southern Somalia this week against suspected al-Qaeda
operatives.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said today that the
attack on Tuesday was directed at lesser known figures with ties to
al-Qaeda rather than senior leaders of the network in East Africa.
"It wasn't any of the al-Qaeda East Africa guys," the official said.
The Pentagon refused to confirm or deny that an AC-130 gunship carried
out a strike in southern Somalia for the second time this month.
"There will be times when there are activities and operations I can talk
about, and there will be other times when I just won't have anything for
you," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. "And I don't have anything
for you on Somalia."
Mr Whitman had previously confirmed an initial strike in southern
Somalia on January 8 that also was aimed at suspected al-Qaeda leaders
in the turbulent region.
The US official said it was "doubtful" that the first strike "got any of
the big guys".
While not confirming a second strike, Mr Whitman said:"We're going to go
after al-Qaeda in the war on terror where it takes us".
"We'll work closely and in cooperation with countries around the world
to include this region, but the very nature of some of our operations
are not conducive to public discussion," he said.
The Washington Post cited unnamed US officials as saying the AC-130
gunship was operating in close cooperation with Ethiopian forces.
Ethiopian troops entered Somalia last month to help the weak Somali
government against the country's rising Islamist movement accused by
many of harbouring some members of Al-Qaeda.
The Ethiopians have conducted ground and air assaults in the same area,
and share intelligence and operational information with the US forces,
according to the Post.