Monday, September 14, 2009
Foreign soldiers have staged an attack on militants in Somalia, killing at least two people in a helicopter raid.
The troops, who according to some reports had uniforms with French insignia, attacked a vehicle carrying Islamists from the al-Shabab group.
Witnesses said the troops took away some men, and there were two bodies left in the road after the attack, in the southern district of Barawe.
The French foreign ministry has not commented on the claims.
"There was a military operation carried out by four foreign helicopters," a village elder told the AFP news agency.
"A car was destroyed, we are also hearing that some of the vehicle's passengers were taken on the helicopters."
French commandos have launched raids in the past to rescue their citizens from pirates or militants.
The assault comes several weeks after a Frenchman held by militants in Mogadishu managed to get free.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991.
Rival Islamist factions are battling forces loyal to the weak UN-backed government.
Source: BBC, Sept 14, 2009