SomaliNet Forums

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/209503.html


finally the world is getting serious about destroying al-shabab

by CismanMaxamud1 » Tue Nov 15, 2011 1:50 pm
Most of them were civilians not al shabab AUN

Scores of people have fled the Somali town of Afgoye after a massive explosion which al-Shabaab insurgents said was caused by a missile strike on one of their bases.

Military officials said they were trying to find out what caused the blast on Sunday night. Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaida and controls large sections of central and south Somalia, is fighting African Union peacekeepers, Somali government forces and Kenyan troops, while foreign warships are also active offshore, battling pirate gangs.

At least two regional news agencies reported that senior al-Shabaab commanders had been killed in the explosion, although it was not immediately possible to confirm this.

Some residents of Afgoye said there had been a flurry of insurgent activity in the area on Sunday amid rumours that rebel commanders were meeting.

"I am sure there was a meeting going on in the base near the orphanage. Armoured cars and expensive 4x4s were buzzing around," Afgoye resident Osman Odowa told Reuters.

"One of the missiles struck right around there," Odowa said.

Mogadishu-based media company Suna Times said on its website that al-Shabaab leaders were killed in what it described as an air strike by a US drone on Afgoye.

A US source said the United States was not involved.

A senior al-Shabaab official said two missiles were launched from warships offshore.

"Enemy warships in the Indian Ocean fired two missiles at us," the official told Reuters. There were no casualties, he said. It was not possible to verify his account.

The Kenyan army, which has deployed thousands of troops inside Somalia, said it did not attack Afgoye, 12 miles (19km) from the capital Mogadishu.

"Yes, there was an explosion but it was not carried out by Kenyans," said spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir. He did not have information on any casualties.

Kenya blames Islamist al-Shabaab rebels for a series of kidnappings and cross-border raids that threaten to damage east Africa's largest economy. Al-Shabaab has denied involvement in the kidnappings but has threatened to attack Kenya in retaliation for the incursion.

Two weeks ago Kenya warned it would launch air strikes on 10 Somali towns where al-Shabaab has bases, including Afgoye.

Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda, a spokesman for the 9,000-strong African Union (Amisom) peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu, said he was seeking confirmation of what had happened in Afgoye.

"We don't know if it was a premature blast inside the al-Shabaab or an air strike. We are still trying to gather information."

Amisom troops support Somalia's transitional federal government, which is backed by the international community but has failed to extend its reach beyond the capital.

One of the scores of people fleeing Afgoye on Monday was mother-of-five Samira Farah, who was heading to Mogadishu. She said there was a column of minibuses laden with mattresses behind her.

"Who dares to stay in a place which is a target of planes and warships?" she said.

Some people in the area between Afgoye and Mogadishu said they had seen a bright light streaking through the sky before the explosion on Sunday night.

Seventy-nine more people have been killed in US assassination drone attacks in southern Somalia, bringing the death toll to 146 over the past two days, Press TV reported.


The US military launched terror drone attacks on Bilis Qooqaani town, which is located 448 kilometers (278 miles) southwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu, on Friday. At least 79 people were killed and several others were injured in the strikes.

The aerial attacks followed US terror drone strikes against Afmadow city, which is situated in the middle of the Juba region and 620 kilometers (385 miles) south of Mogadishu.

Witnesses told Press TV that at least 29 people were killed and 43 others were also injured in the aerial assassination attacks.

Meanwhile, at least 38 people were killed and over 66 others were wounded after US remote-controlled terror drones launched attacks on Tabataa town, which is located in the southern Lower Juba region of Somalia.

Somalia is the sixth country where the United States has used assassination drones to launch deadly missile strikes.

On October 28, the United States admitted to flying the terror aircraft from a base in Ethiopia.

"The US has unarmed and unmanned aircraft at a facility there (Ethiopia) to be used only for surveillance as part of a broad, sustained integrated campaign to counter terrorism," said Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby.

The confirmation appeared a day after The Washington Post revealed in a report that the US flies “armed” drones from an airfield in Ethiopia's southern city of Arba Minch.

The US military has also used assassination drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew formerdictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world.

MP/MB

dictator (dɪkˈteɪtə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide
—n
1. a. a ruler who is not effectively restricted by a constitution, laws, recognized opposition, etc
b. an absolute, esp tyrannical, ruler
2. (in ancient Rome) a person appointed during a crisis to exercise supreme authority
3. a person who makes pronouncements, as on conduct, fashion, etc, which are regarded as authoritative
4. a person who behaves in an authoritarian or tyrannical manner

Somali officials claimed that Ahmad Godane Abu Zubayr, Shabaab's spiritual leader, and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a top commander, were both killed in a massive blast in Afgoye, a town about 20 miles west of Mogadishu. The explosion took place at a "compound" known to be used by Shabaab, according to Sunatimes and Mareeg Online. Reuters claimed the blast took place at a "camp." Afgoye is under Shabaab control.The rumor of the deaths of Abu Zubayr and Aweys has not been confirmed. Shabaab has not announced their deaths.

TFG is saying Godane and Caweys are dead .

TFG is saying Godane and Caweys are dead .