US planes shell suspected al-Qaeda cell in Somalia

It is the first overt military action by the US in Somalia since the 1990s and the legacy of a botched intervention – known as “Black Hawk Down” — that left 18 US servicemen dead.

“The US were trying to kill the al-Qaeda terrorists who carried out the bomb attacks on their embassies in Kenya and Tanzania,” said Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aideed. “They have our full support for the attacks.”

The US airstrike comes 16 days after Ethiopia forces invaded Somalia to prevent an Islamic movement ousting the weak, internationally recognised government from its lone stronghold in the west of the country. The US and Ethiopia both accuse the Islamic group of harbouring extremists, among them al-Qaeda suspects.

Ethiopian troops, tanks and warplanes took just 10 days to drive the Islamic group from the capital, Mogadishu, and other key towns.

Meanwhile, the US military said on Tuesday it had sent an aircraft carrier to join three other US warships conducting anti-terror operations off the Somali coast.

US warships have been seeking to capture al-Qaeda members thought to be fleeing Somalia in the wake of Ethiopia’s invasion.

The US attacks took place on Monday afternoon on Badmadow island. The area is known as Ras Kamboni and is suspected to be a terror training base.

“The strike was carried out after it had been confirmed that al-Qaeda members are hiding there in the area,” government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.

“We don’t know how many people were killed in the attack but we understand there were a lot of casualties,” he said. “Most were Islamic fighters.”

Witnesses said at least four civilians were killed in the attack, including a small boy. The claims could not be independently verified.

“My 4-year-old boy was killed in the strike,” said Mohamed Mahmud Burale. “The plane was firing at other areas in Ras Kamboni. We could see smoke from the area. We also heard 14 massive explosions.”

After two days of fierce fighting, Ethiopian and Somali forces say they are on the verge of capturing Ras Kamboni, where they say the Islamic movement is cornered.

US officials said after the September 11 attacks that extremists with ties to al-Qaeda operated a training camp at Ras Kamboni and al-Qaeda members are believed to have visited it. The alleged mastermind of the embassy bombings in East Africa, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, escaped to Ras Kamboni, according to testimony from one of the convicted bombers.

Mohammed is believed to be the leader of the al-Qaeda East Africa cell.

Leaders of the Islamic movement have vowed from their hideouts to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war in Somalia.

—MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN