Monday, September 14, 2009
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Foreign troops in helicopters attacked a seaside town controlled by Somali insurgents Monday, killing at least two people and taking two others captive, witnesses said.
Eyewitness Abdi Ahmed said the helicopters fired from the air and hit a car near Barawe town, killing two men in the car and wounding two others. He said foreign soldiers, who were white, left with the two wounded men as captives.
"We heard the explosion and saw two helicopters flying over us," said Mohamed Ali Aden, a bus driver who drove past the burnt-out car minutes after the attack. "There was only a burning vehicle and two dead bodies lying beside."
It was not clear who conducted the attack. Somalia's weak government has very few resources and does not have helicopters or other modern equipment. One witness, Dahir Ahmed, said the helicopters took off from a nearby warship flying a French flag, but that could not be immediately confirmed.
France has launched commando raids in the past to rescue French nationals held by insurgents and pirates in this lawless African nation. Calls to the Defense Ministry in Paris rang unanswered Monday.
Barawe is controlled by al-Shabab, an insurgent group the U.S. accuses of having links to al-Qaida. The town is some 155 miles (250 kilometers) from the capital, Mogadishu.
Many experts fear the country's lawlessness could provide a haven for al-Qaida, offering a place for terrorists to train and gather strength — much like Afghanistan in the 1990s. Al-Shabab has hundreds of foreign fighters in its ranks, and the group controls much of the country.
Somalia's lawlessness also has allowed piracy to flourish off its coast, making the Gulf of Aden one of the most dangerous waterways in the world.
The U.S. government — haunted by a deadly 1993 U.S. military assault in Mogadishu chronicled in "Black Hawk Down" — is working to lower the growing terrorist threat without sending in American troops. The Obama administration recently increased aid to Somalia by pouring resources into the weak government.
Various Islamist groups have been fighting the U.N.-backed government since being chased from power 2 1/4 years ago. Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, sees near-daily battles between government and insurgent forces. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed.
Source: AP, Sept 14, 2009