Terror suspect ‘alive in Somalia’

A KEY al Qaeda suspect was not killed during Monday’s air strike in southern Somalia, the United States ambassador to Kenya has told the BBC.

Somali officials had said that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, accused of masterminding the 1998 bomb attacks on US embassies in East Africa, was dead. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger also strongly denied reports that a number of civilians had died in the attack.The US says it carried out the air strikes to target al Qaeda suspects.There has been considerable criticism of the US after its first overt military action in Somalia since 1994.Washington has dismissed the criticism, saying it was necessary to defend the US and the international community from further al Qaeda attacks.Kenyan intelligence sources said on Wednesday that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed’s wife and the wife of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, also wanted by the FBI for an attack in East Africa in 2002, had been arrested in Kenya after fleeing the coastal Somali town of Ras Kamboni.A local Somali MP said 27 civilians died in recent air strikes near Afmadow.Residents of Afmadow town and Ras Kamboni reported further attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday but Ranneberger said these had not been carried out by US forces.Reports suggest Ethiopian MiG fighters and helicopter gunships seen in the city of Kismayo may be involved.Ethiopian forces have been at the forefront of the drive against Somalia’s Islamists, who deny charges they had been sheltering al-Qaeda operatives.The Islamists took control of much of southern Somalia last year before being routed by Ethiopian and Somali government forces in recent weeks.Ranneberger also said the US would support an all-inclusive Somali government and would welcome moderate Islamists participating in the process, as long as they rejected violence.On Wednesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said several terror suspects had been either killed or captured in the strikes.He told reporters Ethiopian forces had gone to the scene of Monday’s US raid and collected the dead and wounded.BBCAmbassador Michael Ranneberger also strongly denied reports that a number of civilians had died in the attack.The US says it carried out the air strikes to target al Qaeda suspects.There has been considerable criticism of the US after its first overt military action in Somalia since 1994.Washington has dismissed the criticism, saying it was necessary to defend the US and the international community from further al Qaeda attacks.Kenyan intelligence sources said on Wednesday that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed’s wife and the wife of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, also wanted by the FBI for an attack in East Africa in 2002, had been arrested in Kenya after fleeing the coastal Somali town of Ras Kamboni.A local Somali MP said 27 civilians died in recent air strikes near Afmadow.Residents of Afmadow town and Ras Kamboni reported further attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday but Ranneberger said these had not been carried out by US forces.Reports suggest Ethiopian MiG fighters and helicopter gunships seen in the city of Kismayo may be involved.Ethiopian forces have been at the forefront of the drive against Somalia’s Islamists, who deny charges they had been sheltering al-Qaeda operatives.The Islamists took control of much of southern Somalia last year before being routed by Ethiopian and Somali government forces in recent weeks.Ranneberger also said the US would support an all-inclusive Somali government and would welcome moderate Islamists participating in the process, as long as they rejected violence.On Wednesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said several terror suspects had been either killed or captured in the strikes.He told reporters Ethiopian forces had gone to the scene of Monday’s US raid and collected the dead and wounded.BBC