U.S. Denies Airstrike In Central Somalia

Islamic fighters said Tuesday that an overnight U.S. airstrike blasted a remote area of central Somalia hours after armed civilians met there, but the U.S. military denied the claim.

Two Islamic insurgents said they heard airplanes overnight and about 10 explosions in the Odam rural area, where armed civilians had met Monday. The fighters, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said no one was hurt.

But a spokesman for the U.S. military's Central Command in Tampa, Florida, said there was no strike. "We had no activities there overnight," said Capt. Matt Hasson.

Last week, a U.S. airstrike killed the suspected leader of al Qaeda in Somalia and 24 others. Local elders said all but five of the dead were civilians.