Somalia: a suspected member of Al Qaeda killed in a U.S. raid

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan

MOGADISHU - The Kenyan Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, suspected of involvement in attacks in Mombasa in 2002 claimed by Al-Qaeda, was killed during a raid by U.S. forces in southern Somalia, said Monday a U.S. official on condition of anonymity.

•     The terrorist was on the list of those most wanted by the U.S. federal police (FBI) for his involvement in an attack against a hotel owned by Israelis, who had killed 18 people, including three suicide bombers, near Mombasa (south-east of Kenya), November 28, 2002.
  
      Almost simultaneously, an Israeli aircraft had escaped two missiles shortly after takeoff from the airport of the city. The Al-Qaeda claimed attacks.
  
      The airborne operation on Monday, which the authors were previously unidentified, was held in a village in southern Somalia, in an area controlled by Islamist Shebab, who openly call for Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden.
  
      A commander of Shebab had said earlier that the French helicopters were involved in this operation, causing a strong denial of the French General Staff.
  
      "There was no French operation, assured Admiral Paris Christophe Prazuck. "The French soldiers who are in the region operate within the EU mission Atalante fight against maritime piracy and do not intervene over the Somali territory.
  
      The raid took place around 1:30 pm local time (10:30 GMT) in the vicinity of the village Eril near the town of Barawe along the Somali coast, about 200 km south of Mogadishu, according to eyewitnesses.
  
  
      According to U.S. television networks ABC and Fox, at least one U.S. helicopter opened fire on a convoy carrying members of Al Qaeda. According to an official was quoted by ABC, a ship of the U.S. Navy.
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      The Shebab would welcome in their ranks several senior of al-Qaeda, including Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, wanted for their alleged involvement in attacks against U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) in 1998, and against Israelis in Mombasa in 2002.
  
      Washington says now feared that Somalia, torn by conflict between government and Islamist insurgents, became a haven for extremists, like the regions bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  
      The Shebab currently hold a French agent held hostage in Mogadishu in July with another colleague. The latter has been released in late August.
  
      Three foreign aid workers were also kidnapped in July in the Kenyan border town of Somalia, and have since been held hostage.
  
      Two journalists, a Canadian and an Australian, were held captive for a year in Somalia.
  
      Uncommon, foreign military interventions on Somali soil remain largely unknown to the public. In May 2008, the military Commander of the Shebab, Adan Hashi Ayro, suspected of links with Al-Qaeda, was killed in a U.S. airstrike.
      
  
  Ennaharonline/ M. O.