September 14, 2009
Foreign troops raid south Somalia village: witnesses
Got a big one...AFP
MOGADISHU — Foreign military forces onboard four helicopters staged a raid on a village in southern Somalia on Monday, opening fire on a vehicle and killing people inside, elders and witnesses said.The attack occurred in the small village of Erile, around 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu, shortly after 1:30 pm (1030 GMT), the sources said.
Al Qaeda-inspired extremists known as the Shebab control the area and are believed to be holding a French agent kidnapped in July, but France denied local claims that its forces were involved in the raid.
"There was a military operation carried out by four foreign choppers in Erile village. A car was destroyed, we are also hearing that some of the vehicle's passengers were taken on the choppers," Abdinasir Mohamed Adan, an elder from the nearby village of Barawe, told AFP by phone.
Several local witnesses gave the same information, adding that some of the passengers in the targeted vehicle were killed.
CNN has just reported this was a US Special Ops raid targeting a senior member of Al Qaeda.....Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan...who was killed in the raid and whose body was taken away by US troops.....also see this Reuters article.
