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US launches air strike in Somalia US launches air strike in Somalia
(about 2 hours later)
The US has launched an air strike against members of a suspected al-Qaeda cell in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The US has launched an air strike against members of a suspected al-Qaeda cell in a village in southern Somalia.
The targets were reported to have been tracked by aerial reconnaissance and then attacked by a US gunship based on a US military base near Djibouti.The targets were reported to have been tracked by aerial reconnaissance and then attacked by a US gunship based on a US military base near Djibouti.
The US believes that the members of al-Qaeda held responsible by for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa have been hiding in Somalia.The US believes that the members of al-Qaeda held responsible by for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa have been hiding in Somalia.
But military sources gave no indication whether the attacks were successful. The Somali transitional government says several people were killed in the raid.
The attack was carried out by an Air Force AC-130, a heavily-armed gunship that can work under the cover of darkness. There has been no official confirmation from the Pentagon that the air strike took place, but correspondents say a statement is expected within hours.
Somalia's capital is in a state of turmoil after Ethiopian troops, backing transitional government soldiers, forced Islamist fighters to abandon Mogadishu which they had controlled for six months. 'Opportunistic attempt'
The attack was carried out by an Air Force AC-130, a heavily-armed gunship that has highly effective detection equipment and can work under the cover of darkness.
The raid took place days after an alliance of Islamic Courts in Somalia, which took control of much of central and southern parts of the country in the past six months, was routed by soldiers of Somalia's transitional government backed by Ethiopia.
The BBC's Adam Mynott, in Nairobi, said that the attack seemed to be an opportunistic attempt by the US to destroy an al-Qaeda cell that they had been tracking for some time.The BBC's Adam Mynott, in Nairobi, said that the attack seemed to be an opportunistic attempt by the US to destroy an al-Qaeda cell that they had been tracking for some time.
The cell is believed to be behind the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and Dar Es Salaam, in Tanzania.The cell is believed to be behind the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and Dar Es Salaam, in Tanzania.
More than 250 people died in the two attacks.More than 250 people died in the two attacks.
The US also hold the same group responsible for an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya in 2002, in which 15 people died.The US also hold the same group responsible for an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya in 2002, in which 15 people died.
On Wednesday the US State Department said it had deployed navy vessels off the country's coast to ensure that al-Qaeda operatives did not flee the country.On Wednesday the US State Department said it had deployed navy vessels off the country's coast to ensure that al-Qaeda operatives did not flee the country.