AC-130 Gunship Fires On Suspected Islamist Fundamentalists

The United States launched a new front in the war on terrorism Sunday, as a single AC-130 gunship unleashed its power in support of Ethiopian soldiers fighting against Al-Qaeda-backed guerillas in neighboring Somalia. It was the first US military action in the war-torn country since 1994.

"You had some figures on the move in a relatively unpopulated part of the country," an anonymous US military source told the Washington Post. "It was a confluence of information and circumstances."

The operation took place in the southern portion of Somalia, and was launched at night from the US Central Command base in Djibouti. Information for the attack was gleaned from joint military-CIA intelligence, as well as information from Ethiopian and Kenyan military forces in the area.

Information is sketchy on the success of the mission, although some sources indicate a prime target of the attack may have been eliminated. Abu Talha al-Sudani is a Sudanese who has lived in Somalia since 1993, and is believed to be an explosives expert and a senior operative in al-Qaeda.

Officials believe Sudani was among several al-Qaeda operatives driven from the Somali capital of Mogadishu during attacks launched by Ethiopian troops late last month. Those operatives are suspected of participating in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, as well as an attempted shootdown of a Israeli airliner.

The Ethiopian military entered Somalia December 24 with the mission of neutralizing the Council of Islamic Courts, a Muslim extremist group that took power in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The Ethiopian forces took the capital in 10 days and terrorists and their sympathizers allegedly moved south toward the border with Kenya to escape.

FMI: www.navy.mil, www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/so.html