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Africa Horn
US strikes Somali town, targets Al Qaeda
2008-03-04
We don't know who got toasted so the accordion lady is out to keep the crowd warmed up ...
The United States bombed a town in southern Somalia on Monday in a strike on suspected terrorists, United States defense officials told news agencies. Six people are reported dead.

Three missiles struck a building in Dobley, a town four miles from the border with Kenya, the Associated Press reported. Remnants of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts, an organization that ruled much of the southern part of the country until late 2006, reportedly took the town last week. The British Broadcasting Corporation is reporting that the missile strike killed six and wounded 20.

Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman told journalists that the attack targeted a "known al-Qaida terrorist."
Memo to Wazoo: this is what happens when you don't have any sort of government around. It gives us a free hand to do what we feel we have to do, and there's no one of consequence to complain to. We can put a missile or a bomb just about anywhere these days, and for just about any reason ...
Earlier, in the day, a U.S. military official told the AP in Washington, "It was a deliberate, precise strike against a known terrorist and his associates." Reuters reported that a U.S. defense official said that the strike targeted a building that is known to be frequently used by terrorists.

A witness told the AP that three planes were involved in the attack. "We woke up with a loud and big bang and when we came out we found our neighbor's house completely obliterated as if no house existed here," Fatuma Abdullahi said.

Reuters spoke with a man in Kismayu, 140 miles north of Dobley, who said the building destroyed in the attack belonged to him. He claimed his daughter had been wounded in the attack. "We do not know whether the missiles were fired by the American AC-130 plane which is still flying over the city. All we know they dropped from the sky," Mohamed Nurie Salad said. He was planning on returning to Dobley to assess the damage.
AC-130, huh? They'll leave a mark.
Posted by:Steve White

#10  "Mellonhead" I love the picture. (But the cat looks mad enough to shred your hand)
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-03-04 14:40  

#9  Weer in ur aerspaze, targeting ur hideoutz

Posted by: lotp   2008-03-04 14:16  

#8  Troll skinning underway on the other Somali strike string.

Let me know when you've got 'im skinned. I'll get out my butcherin' tools and cut 'im up for the freezer - or for the oversize plastic shredder, if sausage is preferred.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2008-03-04 13:46  

#7  Nah, you can find plenty of it elsewhere. Lotsa 'blame Israel' conspiracy sites, like directblackaction (a 'black' version of the KKK) and various anti-war (mostly tied to the International Solidarity Movement) sites.

I'll leave it to you to find your own links to these 'usual suspects'.
Posted by: Pappy   2008-03-04 13:38  

#6  Quick, everyone!

Troll skinning underway on the other Somali strike string. Strident Goebbelsite authoritarian, a rare vintage around here.

Come and get some before it's all gone!
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2008-03-04 12:19  

#5  I hope he was ratted out by a compatriot...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2008-03-04 11:29  

#4  There are reports that the target was Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and that he was killed in the strikes. Unconfirmed though
Posted by: Chunky Phurong7960   2008-03-04 08:37  

#3  Weer in ur aerspaze, targeting ur hideoutz
Posted by: Seafarious   2008-03-04 07:51  

#2  Here it is: NAIROBI, Kenya - A U.S. missile strike early yesterday against terrorism suspects in a remote village of southern Somalia killed at least six people and wounded 10 others, witnesses and local leaders said. The Tomahawk cruise missile was launched from a U.S. submarine off the coast of the African nation, U.S. officials said, declining to identify the target or provide other details.

It is the fourth U.S. military strike in Somalia since Ethiopian troops entered the country in December 2006 to help defeat Islamist militants who had seized Mogadishu and to restore power to a United Nations-recognized transitional government.
Posted by: Steve   2008-03-04 07:29  

#1  Heard one story yesterday that said it was two cruise missiles launched from a sub. Likely the planes were spotting targets for them.
Posted by: Steve   2008-03-04 07:20  

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