There were reports that Ethiopian troops were taking heavy casualties in fighting against insurgents, including an incident in central Mogadishu where an army truck was blown up by a bazooka. Most of the violence on Wednesday was concentrated in strongholds of the Ayr sub-clan, a powerful lineage group that was closely connected to SomaliaÂ’s Islamist movement.Quoting US and French military sources, ABC News said US special forces were working with Ethiopian troops on the ground inside Somalia. But Interior minister Hussein Mohamed Aideed denied the report. "There are no American ground forces inside Somalia. The American involvement is limited to air and sea," he said.
MondayÂ’s attack was the first overt US military action in Somalia since a disastrous humanitarian mission ended in 1994.