Very Bad for Al-Qaeda

AC-130 gunship takes apart suspected al-Qaeda target, sounds a lot like the notorious al-Qaeda hangout at Ras Kamboni mentioned in other reports, where Islamist found themselves trapped between Kenyan troops on the border, the U.S. Navy offshore, with Ethiopian and Somali troops moving in. Two al-Qaeda operatives, repsponsible for the Kenya and Tanzania embassy bombing sand attacks on Israelis in Mombasa, are thought to be there. Maybe, maybe not. But Somali and Ethiopian troops had been heavily engaged there, taking casualties, and the target apparently is quieter now. Which is not a big surprise, if you are familiar with the AC-130. Very bad for al-Qaeda. Very very bad.

CBS here.

CNN here.

Background from an earlier AP report:

In Washington, a government official confirmed that the U.S. military launched a strike against several suspected members of al-Qaida in Somalia, using at least one AC-130 gunship. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation.

The official did not say where the attack took place. Earlier, a CBS News report citing Pentagon sources said the attack at a site at the southern tip of Somalia targeted the senior al-Qaida leader in East Africa and an al-Qaida operative wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The U.S. had accused the Islamic militia that had controlled Mogadishu until recently of harboring the al-Qaida suspects.

Yusuf's troops and their Ethiopian allies appeared close to defeating the main Islamic force making a stand in a jungle region in the far south that is a suspected al-Qaida base.

Earlier on Monday, the defense minister, Col. Barre "Hirale" Aden Shire, said troops were poised to enter Ras Kamboni, on the southernmost tip of Somalia between the sea and the Kenyan border, after a fierce two-day battle. U.S. warships patrolled off shore and the Kenyan military guarded the border to watch for fleeing militants.

Shire said skirmishes were still taking place outside Ras Kamboni and both sides had suffered heavy casualties.

U.S. officials said after the Sept. 11 attacks that extremists with ties to al-Qaida operated a training camp at Ras Kamboni and al-Qaida members are believed to have visited it. The alleged mastermind of the embassy bombings in East Africa, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, escaped to Ras Kamboni, according to testimony from one of the convicted bombers.

And what is it all about. Here's a Somali journalist Bashir Goth on that. Compliments of MEMRI:

"The nightmare is over. Yes, I mean the Union of Islamic Courts, UIC. They had their day under the sun and they blew it. They had the support of all Somali people when they stormed to power, routed the notorious warlords, restored peace in Mogadishu, opened the airports and seaports, started addressing looted property issues and began looking like a wise authority.

"But instead of capitalizing on the people's genuine support and willingness to give in and give up everything, they had become power lusty, belligerent and fatwa-crazy. Instead of building bridges with the community, improving services, opening hospitals, winning the trust of international organizations and NGOs to help them with projects to generate employment, they burned all bridges. They alienated the youth by banning all types of entertainment, segregated women and deprived tens of thousands of families from their only livelihood by banning khat without bringing an alternative source of income. They even embittered traditional Islamic scholars with their characteristic Wahhabi style of self-righteousness and condescending attitude to mainstream Islam.

"Not only did they become more warlords than the ones they had defeated, but they emblazoned their belligerency with Islam and brandished the sword of Jihad, thus projecting themselves in the model of Taliban and regurgitating the tired jihadist rhetoric of Al Qaeda."

Gateway's roundup here, with graphics.

Dr. Sanity's diagnosis here.

Boogie with Capt. Ed to the extended dance mix.