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CNN Reports that a Somali official has confirmed that a wanted senior al Qaeda official was killed by the US AC-130 airstrike on Sunday. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of two US embassies. The Somali government has also asked for American troops support on the ground.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A senior al Qaeda suspect wanted for bombing U.S. embassies in East Africa has been killed, a Somali official said Wednesday as witnesses said U.S forces launched a third day of airstrikes.
Also Wednesday, Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister said American troops were needed on the ground to root extremists from his troubled country, and he expected the troops soon.
The death of al Qaeda suspect Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was detailed in an American intelligence report passed on to the Somali authorities. Mohammed, one of the FBI's most wanted terrorists who has evaded capture for eight years, was allegedly harbored by a Somali Islamic movement that had challenged this country's Ethiopian-backed government for power.
"I have received a report from the American side chronicling the targets and list of damage," Abdirizak Hassan, the Somali president's chief of staff, said. "One of the items they were claiming was that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is dead."
One wonders if he was the bride or the groom.
UPDATE: It appears that the strike did NOT get Fazul. Dang.
War, World news | Gaius Wednesday, 10 January , 2007
