US Air Force Bombs Southern Somalia Using AC-130 Gunships

[Castro]

A U.S. Air Force gunship has conducted a strike against suspected members of al Qaeda in Somalia, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports exclusively.

 

The targets included the senior al Qaeda leader in East Africa and an al Qaeda operative wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa, Martin reports. The AC-130 gunship is capable of firing thousands of rounds per second, and sources say a lot of bodies were seen on the ground after the strike, but there is as yet, no confirmation of the identities.

 

The gunship flew from its base in Dijibouti down to the southern tip of Somalia, Martin reports, where the al Qaeda operatives had fled after being chased out of the capital of Mogadishu by Ethiopian troops backed by the United States.

 

Once they started moving, the al Qaeda operatives became easier to track, and the U.S. military started preparing for an air strike, using unmanned aerial drones to keep them 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 U.S. Special Operations command.

 

If the attack got the operatives it was aimed at, reports Martin, it would deal a major blow to al Qaeda in East Africa.

 

Meanwhile, a jungle hideout used by Islamic militants that is believed to be an al Qaeda base was on the verge of falling to Ethiopian and Somali troops, the defense minister said Monday.

 

While a lawmaker had earlier told The Associated Press that the base was captured, Somalia's Defense Minister Col. Barre "Hirale" Aden Shire said troops had yet to enter it and that limited skirmishes were still ongoing, though troops were poised to take the base.

 

Ethiopian soldiers, tanks and warplanes were involved in the two-day attack, a government military commander told the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

 

Shire said there had been heavy fighting with high numbers of casualties.

 

"There are a lot of casualties from both sides," he said, declining to give details.

 

Residents in the coastal seaport of Kismayo, some 90 miles northeast of Ras Kamboni, said they saw wounded Ethiopian soldiers being loaded onto military helicopters for evacuation.

 

"I have seen about 50 injured Ethiopian troops being loaded onto a military chopper," said Farhiya Yusuf. She said 12 Ethiopian helicopters were stationed at the Kismayo airport.

 

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 U.S. warships and across the Kenyan border by the Kenyan military.

 

In Mogadishu, Somalia's president made his first visit to the capital since taking office in 2004. During the unannounced visit, President Abdullahi Yusuf was expected to meet with traditional Somali elders and stay at the former presidential palace that has been occupied by warlords for 15 years, government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.

 

U.S. officials warned after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that extremists with ties to al Qaeda operated a training camp at Ras Kamboni and that al Qaeda members are believed to have visited it.

 

Three al Qaeda suspects wanted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa are believed to be leaders of the Islamic movement. The Islamists deny having any links to al Qaeda.

 

Somalia's government had struggled to survive since forming with backing from the United Nations two years ago, and was under attack by the Islamic militia when Ethiopia's military intervened on Dec. 24 and turned the tide.

 

But many in predominantly Muslim Somalia resent the presence of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population. The countries fought two brutal wars, the last in 1977.

 

On Sunday, gunmen attacked Ethiopian troops, witnesses said, sparking a firefight in the second straight day of violence in the capital, Mogadishu.

 

CBS News

[Castro]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. helicopter gunship conducted a strike against two suspected al Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, but it was not known whether the mission was successful, CBS News reported on Monday.

 

The U.S. Air Force helicopter, operated by the Special Operations Command, flew from its base in Djibouti to the southern tip of Somalia, where the al Qaeda suspects were believed to have fled from the capital Mogadishu, the U.S. network reported.

 

A Pentagon spokesman said he had no information on the report.

 

The al Qaeda operatives, who were not named, included a suspect in the car bomb attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, the report said.

 

Reuters

[Castro]

US launches strike

 

United States forces in Somalia have launched a strike against suspected terrorists thought to have been behind attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania eight years ago.

 

More than 200 people are thought to have died in the attacks, though the bodies are yet to be identified.

 

An American air force AC-130 gunship conducted the strike, which targeted the senior al Qaeda leader in east Africa, and an operative of the organisation wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings.

 

The craft, which is capable of firing thousands of rounds a second, flew from its base in Djibouti to southern tip of Somalia for the attack.

 

The al Qaeda operatives were hiding in the area after being chased from the capital Mogadishu by Ethiopian troops backed by the US.

 

They re-took the capital, which had been under the control of warlords for 15 years, on behalf of the Somalian government.

 

Sky News

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Priceless, now in order for them to divide us, they label the innocent Somali people they have killed Al Qaida members. They will only radicalize the Somalis. Those they are killing are fellow Somalis who are fighting for their country and religion. Somalia or Somalis were any threat to America yet they managed to attack us for reasons that are unknown.

 

Djibouti needs to evict American forces out of their land immediately. Otherwise Djibouti is the enemy who is assisting a greater enemy.

[Castro]

All of these countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, etc..) are being coerced by the US. For all intents and purposes, Somalia is at war with the United States.

[Castro]

Notice how this news breaks hours after Jendayi Frazer leaves the area heading home. Ain't nobody gonna ask her fat behind now what she knows about this US invasion.

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Military wise we don’t stand a chance, but I know for a fact that no American soldier can set foot in Somali soil.

 

But I doubt that they are intending on bring their troops to Somalia. They will let the Ethiopian and puppet regime troops tackle Somalia and enforce their laws and occupational forces on the ground, while America limits itself to air strikes. Am I wrong to call this World War Three?

 

But I still don’t know what their intensions are?????

[Alle-ubaahne]

Originally posted by Castro:

All of these countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, etc..) are being coerced by the US. For all intents and purposes, Somalia is at war with the United States.

That is absulately right, and the United States is at war with any good-spirited Muslim who can stand up for the interest of the Muslim Ummah.

 

Let them bombard us, for we have dignity and we have Allah on our side!

[General Duke]

^^^And you will be the firts to give up your green card right?

 

I thoought this was an occupation by the Tigray, has it now turned into a US show?

 

Mystic, I nearly fell of my chair..

[Taliban]

Originally posted by mystic:

Military wise we don’t stand a chance

With insurgency and patience, we stand a chance to beat the US in the long term.

[Dhubad.]

^Duke, xataa xoogaa ankee maka qiiroonaysid arinkaan?

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Duke the man who can’t see past his tribal orbit, how did Ethiopia, one of the poorest nation on earth manage to have MIGs, well trained army and military equipments? Wasn’t it America who was supporting them and still do with millions if $$$$?

 

Wake up lazy qaxooti .

 

Your naivety is dangerous. You would have died a long time ago if it was a disease.

[Castro]

Generale, why don't you stick with posting pictures of Villa Somalia. I can't believe you guys let the 40-year historical moment pass by like that. Did no one have a digital camera? A phone camera? They even had one of those when Saddam was being lynched. Surely some stills were taken. Mise there were too many bullet holes in the background on the Villa Somalia walls for it to be a decent picture?

 

Originally posted by General Duke:

I thoought this was an occupation by the Tigray, has it now turned into a US show?

Even if you tried, you couldn't understand the nexus here.

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Ha, it wasn't meant to be, Poor Aisha Yusuf.

[Alle-ubaahne]

Originally posted by General Duke:

^^^And you will be the firts to give up your green card right?

 

I thoought this was an occupation by the Tigray, has it now turned into a US show?

 

Mystic, I nearly fell of my chair..

I have a country saaxiib, not that I need to stay in the blizard-ridden country of gaalo who have showed us their true colors, in animosity towards our poor people.

 

Now, we hate them, and we hate their country and whatever they stand for!

 

You are mistaken if you think you can xuux me with what you consider the god of your uncle, America!