Western forces - believed to be American - have carried out a raid on al Shabaab fighters inside Somalia, it has been claimed.
A resident of Barawa - a seaside town 110 miles south west of Mogadishu - said fighting erupted just before dawn.
Western forces carried out the raid by arriving on the town's beach while it was still dark, an al Shabaab spokesman said.
Officials told the Reuters agency the target had been a Chechen leader of the extremist network, which is based in Somalia.
Al Shabaab said one of its militants was killed, but it is not known if the mission's aim was achieved.
The strike comes exactly two weeks after al Shabaab militants attacked Nairobi's Westgate Mall, a four-day terrorist assault that killed at least 67 people in neighbouring Kenya.
The leader of Al Shabaab, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, also known as Ahmed Godane, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was in retaliation for Kenya's military deployment inside Somalia.
The Barawa resident who spoke to the Associated Press said that heavy gunfire woke up residents before dawn prayers.
An al Shabaab fighter who gave his name as Abu Mohamed said "foreign" soldiers attacked a house, and fought their way inside.
One of the gunman in the Kenyan shopping centre attack It prompted militants to rush to the scene in an attempt to capture a foreign soldier. Mohamed said no foreign forces were seized.
A Somali intelligence official also said the strike was carried out by a foreign military. Somalia's army does not have the capability to carry out a stealth night-time strike.
Sky's correspondent Alex Crawford said she had spoken to a "high-level source" in Somalia who said he believed it was carried out by American forces.
A Western intelligence official said it appeared likely that either US or French forces carried out the attack.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman George Little declined to comment. A French government spokesman said its army had not been involved, but did not comment on its navy.
The British Ministry of Defence said there was no UK involvement.
Many Western militaries have warships that ply the waters off Somalia to keep piracy in check.
Another resident of Barawe, who gave his name as Mohamed Bile, said militants in Barawe closed down the town in the hours after the assault, and that all traffic and movements had been restricted.
He said militants were carrying out house-to-house searches to track down who it was that gave the foreign forces the information.
"We woke up to find al Shabaab fighters had sealed off the area," Mr Bile told AP. "The town is in a tense mood."
In September 2009 a daylight commando raid carried out by Navy SEALs in Barawa killed six people.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Al Shabaab: 'Western Forces Strike In Somalia'
Dengan url
http://sumpahserapan.blogspot.com/2013/10/al-shabaab-western-forces-strike-in.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Al Shabaab: 'Western Forces Strike In Somalia'
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Al Shabaab: 'Western Forces Strike In Somalia'
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar