Somalia: US strikes innocent villagers

The US military has launched a strike against innocent Somalians, saying they are "suspected members of al-Qaeda". A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said at least one AC-130 gunship was used in the attack.

Representative of puppet "government" Dinari told AFP: "We know that a US gunship raided targets of al-Qaeda in southern Somalia sometime yesterday afternoon.

"The target was a small village called Badel where the terrorists were hiding. And the gunship did hit on the exact target."

"Absolutely a lot of people were killed. So many dead people were lying in the area, but we do not know who is who, but the raid was a success," Dinari said.

But Islamic source indicated that US killed innocent civilian people. 

Air Force AC-130 gunships are heavily armed aircraft with elaborate sensors that can go after discreet targets - day or night. They are operated by the special operations command and have been used heavily against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

US navy vessels have been deployed off the coast of Somalia.

Earlier ethiopian jets bombarded environs of Afmadown town in Lower Juba region in southern Somalia, sources through VHF radio reported.

The air raid by the Ethiopian warplanes is reported to be part of the clashes with the Islamic force hiding in the forests of the Somalia southern tip.

It is hard to verify the exact casualties from the area. The Ethiopian air strike caused that many residents in Afmadow to flee their house.

The air shelling came after days of ground battle around the jungle areas near the border between Somalia and Kenya.

Islamic source reported that in the hilly island of Raaskamboni a heavy battle raged between occupation troops and Islamic soldiers. Both on foot since no vehicles can pass through to the small island witness reported in occupied Kismayo that many occupation troops that attacked the island only 89 returned and most of them wounded. Some somalian puppet troops contact relatives in Mogadishu informing them of the battle and informing them that around 2,000 islamic soldiers where in the hilly island who ambushed them when they came in.