MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 9, 2007
U.S. Strikes In Somalia Reportedly Kill 31
Official Says Dead Were Civilians From Village Targeted In Hunt For Alleged Al Qaeda Suspects
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Play CBS Video Video U.S. Hits Al Qaeda In Africa CBS News has learned that a U.S. gunship conducted a strike against suspected Al Qaeda operatives in Somalia. One of the targets was the senior Al Qaeda leader in East Africa. David Martin reports.
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Video U.S. Prolongs Al Qaeda Assault A U.S. gunship blasted at a suspected hideout of Al Qaeda terrorists in Somalia. The men are suspected in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa. David Martin reports.
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(AP/U.S. Air Force)
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Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a suspected terrorist wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of the United States Embassies Tanzania and Nairobi, is shown in a photo released by the FBI October 10, 2001 in Washington, DC. (FBI/Getty Images)
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This handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, shows the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio, background, steams behind the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)
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Fast Facts Somalia Learn about the people, economy and history.
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Interactive Bin Laden & Al Qaeda Where al Qaeda operates, who's been caught, how they're financed and a timeline of attacks on Americans.
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In Washington, a U.S. intelligence official said American forces killed five to 10 people in an attack on one target in southern Somalia believed to be associated with al Qaeda. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the operation's sensitivity, said a small number of others present, perhaps four or five, were wounded.
The U.S. military is ready to carry out more strikes, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. But whether it does will depend on getting good intelligence on the whereabouts of any al Qaeda operatives left alive.
A Somali lawmaker said 31 civilians, including a newlywed couple, died in Tuesday's assault by two helicopters near Afmadow, a town in a forested area close to the Kenyan border. The report could not be independently verified.
A Somali Defense Ministry official described the helicopters as American, but witnesses told The Associated Press they could not make out identification markings on the craft. Washington officials had no comment on the helicopter strike.
The U.S. is hunting down Islamic extremists, said the Somali defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
"These guys deserve to be dead," said CBS News consultant Michael Schueur, a former CIA officer. "I hope we did get them, but in the strategic sense of 'are we closer to winning this war?' I think that's probably not the case."
On Monday, a U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship conducted an initial strike – part of a wider air offensive against suspected members of al Qaeda - Martin first reported.
The Pentagon confirmed Monday's strike targeting al Qaeda operatives late on Tuesday, but did not give any information on who was actually killed.
The targets included the senior al Qaeda leader in East Africa and an al Qaeda operative wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa, Martin reported. Those terror attacks killed more than 200 people.
Earlier, Somalia's president said that the U.S. was pursuing suspects in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, and that the effort has his support.
(CBS)
The rocket attack was followed by several minutes of rifle fire. One Somali soldier was killed and two other soldiers and a bystander were wounded, said minibus driver Harun Ahmed, who took the injured to a hospital.
Col. Shino Moalin Nur, a Somali military commander, told the AP by telephone late Tuesday that at least one U.S. AC-130 gunship attacked a suspected al Qaeda training camp Sunday on a remote island at the southern tip of Somalia next to Kenya.
Somali officials said they had reports of many deaths.
On Monday, witnesses and Nur said, more U.S. air strikes were launched against Islamic extremists in Hayi, 30 miles from Afmadow. Nur said attacks continued Tuesday.
"Nobody can exactly explain what is going on inside these forested areas," the Somali commander said. "However, we are receiving reports that most of the Islamist fighters have died and the rest would be captured soon."
In Washington on Tuesday, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman spoke of one strike in southern Somalia, but would not confirm any of the details or say whether any al Qaeda militants were killed.
The assault was based on intelligence "that led us to believe we had principal al Qaeda leaders in an area where we could identify them and take action against them," Whitman said.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The secrets of tennis legend 
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See all 505 CommentsA Somali lawmaker said 31 civilians, including a newlywed couple, died in Tuesday's assault by two helicopters near Afmadow, a town in a forested area close to the Kenyan border.
The war this war on terror is working,
they can shoot up a car pool on their way to soocer practice, and say they were trying to get the terrorest....
I would think after the first couple of time they
KILL THE WRONG PEOPLE
that they would not let theses CRIMINAL THUGS
continue to fight this war this way...
A Somali lawmaker said 31 civilians, including a newlywed couple, died in Tuesday's assault by two helicopters near Afmadow, a town in a forested area close to the Kenyan border.
The war this war on terror is working,
they can shoot up a car pool on their way to soocer practice, and say they were trying to get the terrorest....
I would think after the first couple of time they
KILL THE WRONG PEOPLE
that they would not let theses CRIMINAL THUGS
continue to fight this war this way...
There are no Al-Qaida in Somalia, and if there is one, Why USA waited so long to get them out of Somalia.
I am sure USA knows that there is Al-Qaida in Somalia.
If there were Al-Qaida in Somalia, We (Somalian) would be the best candidate to get them out. and we are ready to do that, but AC-130 would only destroy the homes and the life of weakest, innocent, refugees. Most casualties are domestic animals and refugees.
Thank
Safia
There are no Al-Qaida in Somalia, and if there is one, Why USA waited so long to get them out of Somalia.
I am sure USA knows that there is Al-Qaida in Somalia.
If there were Al-Qaida in Somalia, We (Somalian) would be the best candidate to get them out. and we are ready to do that, but AC-130 would only destroy the homes and the life of weakest, innocent, refugees. Most casualties are domestic animals and refugees.
Thank
Safia
1998???
Yep, Bush is making sure he is doing all he can to provoke another 9/11 so he can continue this whole fiasco, his Haliburton buddies LOVE him!
"U.S. was pursuing suspects"
SUSPECTS? so now we kill people at random we THINK might be suspects.
Why is this not surprising?
Just a reminder- there is no legal basis for the U.S. to torture, and/or summarily execute people around the globe, based on a whim, and faith-based hype.
What will be the final bill, for the Bush Butchers?
and we wonder why people hate us. murder under the guise of "democracy" or the "war on terror", isn't really murder, right?
The chances of you even meeting a 'terrorist' in your lifetime is nil, and the jury is still out on the 9/11 atrocity being planned by terrorists instead of rogue U.S. politicians.
Bu$h, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Halliburton could be the real terrorists of this planet.
40 mm cannon that fire 120 rounds per minute and
a 105 mm cannon, normally a field artillery weapon.
40 mm cannon that fire 120 rounds per minute and
a 105 mm cannon, normally a field artillery weapon.
How does the Americans kill a mosquito..??
40 mm cannon that fire 120 rounds per minute and
a 105 mm cannon, normally a field artillery weapon.
How does the Americans kill a mosquito..??
The wanton killing of the MANY INNOCENT Somalis just to ensure death of A FEW ALLEGED TERRORISTS is devilish!
The wanton killing of the MANY INNOCENT just to ensure death of A FEW ALLEGED GUILTY is devilish!
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