Lost_lady
04-01-07, 23:24
NAIROBI (AFP) - Ethiopian helicopters, helped by US intelligence, nearly hit fleeing Somali Islamist leaders who abandoned their last stronghold south of Somalia, officials have said.
They said Thursday that four helicopters which struck positions three kilometres (1.8 miles) inside Kenya, "nearly hit three off-road vehicles we strongly believed to be carrying the Islamist leaders," said a top Kenyan official, citing intelligence.
The trucks were inside Somali territory but some of the bombs from the attack fell on the Kenyan side of the border.
US naval forces, based in Djibouti, this week joined the hunt for the Islamist militants with suspected Al-Qaeda ties. The Kenyan official said the three vehicles "were being trailed by a US satelite and all indications are that the (Islamists) were inside."
Four helicopters dropped six bombs on Tuesday at positions about 17 kilometres (11 miles) south of the Kenyan border post of Liboi, police confirmed.
In addition to three vehicles, an M16 rifle and a pamphlet were recovered from the trucks that had stalled inside Somalia territory, but no one was found in them, they said.
A top Somali government official confirmed the details of the incident, saying "I know of this."
The fleeing Islamist leaders were reported to be in Badade district in Somalia Lower Jubba region, after retreating from attempts to sneak into Kenya, the official said.
"We are still searching for them," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told AFP.
The United States was working closely with Somalia's Horn of Africa neighbours "to ensure that these individuals aren't able to transit those borders," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, without providing details of the US deployment.
Kenya has closed its border with Somalia to prevent an influx of weapons and fighters.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070104/wl_africa_afp/somaliaunrestethiopia_070104092712
They said Thursday that four helicopters which struck positions three kilometres (1.8 miles) inside Kenya, "nearly hit three off-road vehicles we strongly believed to be carrying the Islamist leaders," said a top Kenyan official, citing intelligence.
The trucks were inside Somali territory but some of the bombs from the attack fell on the Kenyan side of the border.
US naval forces, based in Djibouti, this week joined the hunt for the Islamist militants with suspected Al-Qaeda ties. The Kenyan official said the three vehicles "were being trailed by a US satelite and all indications are that the (Islamists) were inside."
Four helicopters dropped six bombs on Tuesday at positions about 17 kilometres (11 miles) south of the Kenyan border post of Liboi, police confirmed.
In addition to three vehicles, an M16 rifle and a pamphlet were recovered from the trucks that had stalled inside Somalia territory, but no one was found in them, they said.
A top Somali government official confirmed the details of the incident, saying "I know of this."
The fleeing Islamist leaders were reported to be in Badade district in Somalia Lower Jubba region, after retreating from attempts to sneak into Kenya, the official said.
"We are still searching for them," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told AFP.
The United States was working closely with Somalia's Horn of Africa neighbours "to ensure that these individuals aren't able to transit those borders," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, without providing details of the US deployment.
Kenya has closed its border with Somalia to prevent an influx of weapons and fighters.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070104/wl_africa_afp/somaliaunrestethiopia_070104092712