U.S. confirms second air strike in Somalia
Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:01pm ET
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The United States has conducted a second air strike in Somalia, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, as the top U.S. envoy in East Africa met an ousted Islamist leader to press for reconciliation with the government.
The new air strike came roughly two weeks after an AC-130 plane killed what Washington said were eight al Qaeda-affiliated fighters hiding among Islamist remnants pushed to Somali's southern tip by Ethiopian and Somali government forces.
One official said the targets this week were from the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), a militant group defeated by government troops with Ethiopian armor and air power in a two-week war started before Christmas.
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A second source said the target was an al Qaeda operative. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment.
"We're going to go after al Qaeda and the global war on terror, wherever it takes us," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
"The very nature of some of our operations are not conducive to public discussions and there will be times when there are activities and operations that I can talk to you about and there will be other times when I just won't have anything for you," he added.
Washington believes Somali Islamists have protected al Qaeda members accused of bombing U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and an Israeli-owned Kenya hotel in 2002. Continued...
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