Ab-Titchaz
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- Jan 30, 2008
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Somali fury at 'al-Qaeda killing'
Somali Islamists will avenge the raid in which a top al-Qaeda suspect was reportedly killed in Somalia, an al-Shabab commander has told the BBC.
Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan is believed to have been killed in a US military helicopter raid on Monday. US agents have been hunting Nabhan for years over attacks on a hotel and an Israeli airliner in Kenya in 2002. It is believed he fled to Somalia after the Mombasa attacks and was working with the al-Shabab group.
The al-Shabab commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly, said the insurgents would retaliate against US interests.
"They will taste the bitterness of our response," he told the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in the capital, Mogadishu.
Somali sources told the BBC that six helicopters were involved in the attack on Monday afternoon on two vehicles in the southern coastal town of Barawe, which is controlled by al-Shabab.
A US official was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying special forces had flown by helicopter from a US Navy ship and fired on a vehicle that they believed was carrying Nabhan - whose body was then taken into US custody.
His wife has told the BBC from the Kenyan port town of Mombasa that she has begun the customary 40-day period of mourning.
Our reporter says the raid has raised concern among Somalis. They fear such attacks by foreign forces may help to fuel extremism, instead of combating it, our correspondent says.
The US last launched a major strike in Somalia in May 2008, killing al-Shabab's military leader and at least 10 others. The raid led to protests by villagers and critics say it had little effect on al-Shabab's capabilities.
French connection?
Analysts say Nabhan is one of the most senior leaders of al-Qaeda's East Africa cell.
He is suspected of bombing an Israeli-owned hotel in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, and trying to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002.
The authorities in Kenya also regard him as a suspect in two attacks on US embassies in the region in 1998.
US-based Somalia expert Andre le Sage told the BBC's Network Africa programme that Nabhan's death, if confirmed, would severely hamper the network's ability to operate in the region.
But he said new leaders would probably emerge to take Nabhan's place.
BBC defence correspondent Nick Childs says the raid seems to be something of a departure from recent US tactics in Somalia, which have tended to use long-range missile strikes and aircraft to try to get at militant suspects.
Earlier reports had quoted witnesses as saying the troops wore uniforms with French insignia and had flown from a ship bearing a French flag. But the French military strongly denied involvement.
During 2007 and 2008 the US carried out air strikes against Somali Islamist groups it accused of links to al-Qaeda.
The US and France both have troops stationed in neighbouring Djibouti.
Monday's assault comes several weeks after a French security adviser held by militants in Mogadishu managed to get free. A colleague seized at the same time remains in captivity.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991.
Rival Islamist factions are battling forces loyal to the weak UN-backed government, which controls only small parts of the capital Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab are said to have links to al-Qaeda, and to have been reinforced with foreign fighters.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8256893.stm
