SASless
29th Jan 2007, 14:09
A news report says an unspecified number of American ground troops are missing and/or captured following the AC-130 strikes in Somalia recently. Hopefully, that will be determined to be mis-information. Kenya is reported to have arrested terrorists holding British passports following the airstrikes.
Britons' held after US strikes in Somalia
Terrorist suspects carrying British passports were reported to have been arrested last night after fleeing the American airstrikes in Somalia.
The suspects were among 11 people held by Kenyan antiterrorist police as American special forces joined the hunt for key al-Qaeda suspects responsible for a string of terror attacks in East Africa.
Hundreds of US troops were dropped by helicopter from warships off the coast of Somalia after officials were forced to admit their airstrikes had failed to kill their main targets.
Local residents said that US teams were involved in heavy fighting around the town of Hayo, which is said to be the suspects’ main base near the Kenyan border.
It is the first US military ground action in Somalia since the infamous “Black Hawk Down” incident of October 1993 when 18 American servicemen died.
One local who watched the US-led action told The Times: “Many civilians, including children, have been killed.”
Ethiopian officials, whose troops are reportedly fighting alongside the US special forces, confirmed that the American troops had landed in large numbers.
US diplomatic sources in the region last night denied that troops were on the ground but said that the operation to track down the missing al-Qaeda suspects was continuing.
Michael Ranneberger, the US Ambassador to Kenya and Somalia, admitted that among those who escaped was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of bomb attacks on two US embassies in East Africa in 1998 in which 226 died.
American Soldiers Seized in Southern Region, Arab And Western Diplomats Say
Mogadishu
There have been mounting reports that numbers of American soldiers were missing in southern Somalia following the recent US air operations on the Islamist and al-Qaeda hideouts in southern jungles of the country, Al Sharq, an Arabic newspaper based in Qatar reported on Friday.
The paper also reported that Kenyan police have seized armed Asians crossing from Somalia into the Kenyan border. The Kenyan police believe the foreigners were fighting alongside with Somalia's defeated Islamists.
According to the paper, Arab diplomats, who asked for anonymity, confirmed that an unspecified number of US foot soldiers was seized in southern Somalia where Islamists are believed to be hiding after their loss of the capital Mogadishu to the UN and internationally-backed transitional government of Somalia and the Ethiopian troops in the country.
Western diplomats, who have not been named, also affirmed that US soldiers were missing in southern Somalia, Al Sharq reported.
It added that Michael Ranneberger, the US ambassador to Kenya, who met with Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the defeated Islamist leader under Kenyan custody, has asked Ahmed to explain where the missing Americans are lingering.
Ranneburger has reportedly made the efforts to convince Ahmed to go back to Somalia and take part in a unity government election, which, he said would be held in Somalia next year. He said Sharif could achieve a high government post in the upcoming government election.
Meanwhile Kenyan police, who asked to remain anonymous, have confirmed to Al-Sharq that they caught two foreign fighters armed AK47s between the Kenyan and Somalia border.
The date of the capture was not specified, however.
Kenyan security forces are stationed at the Kenyan border along with Somalia to clutch the escaping Islamists and al-Qaeda operatives given a safe haven in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union.
US ambassador Ranneburger, who spoke to Shabelle on 20 January, said the Islamists were harboring al-Qaeda operatives who were exerting control of the Islamic Courts.
Islamists always denied they had al-Qaeda operatives in their Islamic party while in control of the strife-torn country.
According to Kenyan Times, Kenyan authorities have arrested five people, including a U.S. citizen and a French citizen suspected to be fighters for Somalia's outdone Islamist movement, on Friday.
Britons' held after US strikes in Somalia
Terrorist suspects carrying British passports were reported to have been arrested last night after fleeing the American airstrikes in Somalia.
The suspects were among 11 people held by Kenyan antiterrorist police as American special forces joined the hunt for key al-Qaeda suspects responsible for a string of terror attacks in East Africa.
Hundreds of US troops were dropped by helicopter from warships off the coast of Somalia after officials were forced to admit their airstrikes had failed to kill their main targets.
Local residents said that US teams were involved in heavy fighting around the town of Hayo, which is said to be the suspects’ main base near the Kenyan border.
It is the first US military ground action in Somalia since the infamous “Black Hawk Down” incident of October 1993 when 18 American servicemen died.
One local who watched the US-led action told The Times: “Many civilians, including children, have been killed.”
Ethiopian officials, whose troops are reportedly fighting alongside the US special forces, confirmed that the American troops had landed in large numbers.
US diplomatic sources in the region last night denied that troops were on the ground but said that the operation to track down the missing al-Qaeda suspects was continuing.
Michael Ranneberger, the US Ambassador to Kenya and Somalia, admitted that among those who escaped was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of bomb attacks on two US embassies in East Africa in 1998 in which 226 died.
American Soldiers Seized in Southern Region, Arab And Western Diplomats Say
Mogadishu
There have been mounting reports that numbers of American soldiers were missing in southern Somalia following the recent US air operations on the Islamist and al-Qaeda hideouts in southern jungles of the country, Al Sharq, an Arabic newspaper based in Qatar reported on Friday.
The paper also reported that Kenyan police have seized armed Asians crossing from Somalia into the Kenyan border. The Kenyan police believe the foreigners were fighting alongside with Somalia's defeated Islamists.
According to the paper, Arab diplomats, who asked for anonymity, confirmed that an unspecified number of US foot soldiers was seized in southern Somalia where Islamists are believed to be hiding after their loss of the capital Mogadishu to the UN and internationally-backed transitional government of Somalia and the Ethiopian troops in the country.
Western diplomats, who have not been named, also affirmed that US soldiers were missing in southern Somalia, Al Sharq reported.
It added that Michael Ranneberger, the US ambassador to Kenya, who met with Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the defeated Islamist leader under Kenyan custody, has asked Ahmed to explain where the missing Americans are lingering.
Ranneburger has reportedly made the efforts to convince Ahmed to go back to Somalia and take part in a unity government election, which, he said would be held in Somalia next year. He said Sharif could achieve a high government post in the upcoming government election.
Meanwhile Kenyan police, who asked to remain anonymous, have confirmed to Al-Sharq that they caught two foreign fighters armed AK47s between the Kenyan and Somalia border.
The date of the capture was not specified, however.
Kenyan security forces are stationed at the Kenyan border along with Somalia to clutch the escaping Islamists and al-Qaeda operatives given a safe haven in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union.
US ambassador Ranneburger, who spoke to Shabelle on 20 January, said the Islamists were harboring al-Qaeda operatives who were exerting control of the Islamic Courts.
Islamists always denied they had al-Qaeda operatives in their Islamic party while in control of the strife-torn country.
According to Kenyan Times, Kenyan authorities have arrested five people, including a U.S. citizen and a French citizen suspected to be fighters for Somalia's outdone Islamist movement, on Friday.