By KEVIN J. KELLEY (email the author)The recent killing in Somalia of a top US target shows that the Obama administration is fully committed to taking military action in support of the shaky Transitional Federal Government.
The September 14 helicopter attack that killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who had long been hunted by the US for his alleged role in terror attacks in Kenya, signalled to militant Islamist groups that “we have a long reach and a long memory,” US counterterrorism expert Jack Cloonan told the Associated Press.
Nabhan, linked to the 1998 East African embassy bombings and the 2002 suicide attack on the Paradise Hotel near Mombasa, ranked alongside fellow Kenyan Fazul Abdullah Mohammed as the US’ most wanted foreign fighters in Somalia.
The United States regards Fazul as the leader of Al Qaida’s East Africa cell.
He is also said to be a principal figure behind both the attacks with which Nabhan was associated.
The daytime raid that reportedly killed five other foreign fighters, in addition to Nabhan, leaves no doubt that the United States will try to kill Fazul whenever a suitable opportunity arises.
And Washington may feel growing urgency to act. Somali sources recently told The New York Times that Fazul is training a cell of suicide bombers in Mogadishu.
At the same time, the Obama administration appears determined to proceed cautiously in its military operations in Somalia. ..more..http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/664012/-/qyc4ejz/-/index.html
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