http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-09/27/content_10120364.htm
烏克蘭稱被海盜擄走坦克原計劃運往肯尼亞 
2008年09月27日 12:18:30 　來源：中國新聞網

   烏克蘭最高拉達議員、最高拉達負責武器銷售檢查問題的臨時偵查委員會主席瓦列裏·科諾瓦柳克表示，烏克蘭與肯尼亞簽有提供武器的合同。

   據俄新網報道，25日晚間海盜在非洲國家索馬裏沿岸附近劫持了承運軍事技術裝備的烏克蘭“法因娜”號貨船。其中，包括30輛T-72坦克。

   烏克蘭外交部正在核實有關船上貨物性質的消息。被劫持的貨船上有3名俄羅斯人，17名烏克蘭人和1名拉脫維亞人。烏克蘭媒體透露，貨船是駛往肯尼亞的。

   科諾瓦柳克指出：“烏克蘭與肯尼亞確實簽署了提供武器的合同。但是，據我們所知，除坦克外，那裏(船上)還有維修裝甲裝備的設備。”

http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-09/27/content_10119184.htm
美對載有坦克的烏克蘭貨船遭劫持表示關切 
2008年09月27日 08:47:15 　來源：新華網 

   新華網華盛頓9月26日電 (記者趙毅)美國國防部發言人惠特曼26日稱，美國對一艘載有33輛坦克的烏克蘭貨船在索馬裏海域遭海盜劫持表示嚴重關切，並就此考慮對策。

   惠特曼對記者說，美國正在對制造這一海盜事件的人員及其後果進行追蹤，研究可能採取的步驟。但他拒絕對此做進一步說明。

   烏克蘭國防部長葉哈努羅夫當天早些時候說，一艘運送軍火的烏克蘭貨船25日在索馬裏東部海域被海盜劫持，除了21名船員外，船上還載有33輛兩種改進型的T-72坦克和“相當多數量的彈藥”。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080926/pl_afp/somaliaunrestpiracyrussiaukraineus_080926220423
US 'concerned' about pirate capture of Ukrainian ship

Fri Sep 26, 6:04 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon on Friday said it was considering its options after news that pirates off the coast of Somalia captured a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying grenade-launchers, ammunition, and 33 T-72 combat tanks.

"The United States is monitoring this situation as it develops and looking at possible options," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

"Obviously a ship carrying cargo of that nature being hijacked off the coast of Somalia is something that should concern us," said Whitman.

"We very much care about piracy, we are also concerned about that type of a cargo and what it might be able to be used for and the origin of the hijackers," he said.

He added: "I am not going to speculate on the options we might pursue."

The vessel, whose whereabouts were unknown Friday, had been heading for the Kenyan port of Mombasa with a crew of 17 Ukrainian nationals, three Russians and one Latvian when it was boarded on Thursday.

Dozens of ships, mainly merchant vessels, have been seized by gangs off Somalia's 3,700-kilometer (2,300-mile) coastline in recent years, despite the presence of Western navies deployed in the region to fight terrorism.

In recent months, a multinational task force based in Djibouti has been patrolling parts of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, where a pirate mothership is believed to be operating.

A Russian frigate, the Neustrashimy (Fearless), was ordered to the region following the hijacking, said Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said.

http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-09/27/content_10119075.htm
烏證實:索馬裏海盜擄走33輛坦克21名船員 
2008年09月27日 08:33:38 　來源：中國新聞網 

   綜合報道，烏克蘭國防部26日表示，一艘運載了33輛俄羅斯坦克的貨船被索馬裏海盜劫持，俄派出軍艦前往該地區巡邏。貨輪由烏克蘭擁有，21名船員來自俄烏等國。

   烏克蘭外交部表示，費那號(Faina)船長25日下午表示，被三艘載有武裝人員的小船包圍。船上有33輛俄制T-72坦克、榴彈發射器等武器，這批軍火由肯尼亞政府訂購。

   烏克蘭國防部長葉哈努羅夫26日說，這批軍火是由烏國有的特種設備出口公司按照烏克蘭的法律合法出售的。

   俄羅斯26日宣布，將會在索馬裏海域進行反海盜巡邏活動，保護俄羅斯公民和船只。俄海軍司令命令波羅的海艦隊的一艘驅逐艦裏前往索馬裏海域。

   索馬裏海盜船一般都偽裝成漁船，然後船乘坐快艇發動攻擊，攻擊范圍可以達到距離海岸數百公裏。 上個月，兩艘馬來西亞油輪被索馬裏海盜劫持。 馬來西亞在本月初派出三艘軍艦前往索馬裏沿海，以保護其商船免遭海盜襲擊。

http://n.yam.com/afp/international/200809/20080927223332.html
貨輪在索馬利亞外海遭劫持 俄派遣軍艦救援  
法新社╱樊劍萍 2008-09-27 00:05     

 
（法新社莫斯科二十六日電）俄羅斯海軍發言人德加洛今天告訴記者，由於載有坦克車和該國公民的一艘貨輪在索馬利亞外海遭海盜劫持，該國今天派遣一艘戰艦前往索馬利亞。

德加洛說，「無畏」號巡防艦已奉命駛往索馬利亞海域，以因應「海盜攻擊事件增加，包括對俄羅斯公民的攻擊」。

俄國媒體報導，配屬俄北波羅的海艦隊的無畏號已於本週稍早離港，執行某項任務。艦上約有兩百名官兵，配備了魚雷、飛彈、火砲與水雷。

肯亞一名海事官員說，這艘懸掛貝里斯旗、遭到劫持的貨輪「費納號」屬烏克蘭所有，被海盜劫持時正準備駛往肯亞的蒙巴薩港。

俄羅斯媒體報導，這艘貨輪上有十七名烏克蘭公民、三名俄羅斯人與一名拉脫維亞人，船上的貨物包括三十輛T-72型主戰坦克車。

索馬利亞的海岸線長達三千七百公里，儘管西方國家船艦部署在索馬利亞水域對抗恐怖主義，可是近數年來有數十艘船隻在此一水域被海盜劫持，其中多數是商船。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080926/wl_afp/somaliaunrestpiracyshipping_080926165802;_ylt=ApIOwAQkrxBpNSF5V49puh2QOrgF
Russia sends warship after Somali pirates seize tank-laden vessel

21 minutes ago

MOGADISHU (AFP) - A Russian warship headed for the seas off Somalia Friday after pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter carrying 33 tanks, munitions and other weaponry, officials said.

The Faina, with a crew of 21, including three Russians, was hijacked on Thursday as it neared the Kenyan port of Mombasa with a cargo of T-72 battle tanks, grenade launchers, ammunition and spares for the Kenyan military, they said.

The frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless) was ordered to the region in response to "the rise in pirate attacks, including against Russian citizens," said Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said.

"Russia's navy will send ships for temporary missions to areas made dangerous because of maritime piracy to protect Russian citizens and guarantee the safety of shipping," he said.

The frigate, armed with missiles and guns and carrying a crew of up to 200, will stay near Somalia "for more than two months in order to guarantee the safety of Russian ships," RIA Novosti news agency quoted the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Viktor Mardusin, as saying.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said late Thursday there were 17 Ukrainian nationals, three Russians and one Latvian aboard the Belize-flagged vessel.

"The captain reported that three cutter boats with armed people approached the Faina, and then communication was cut off," it added, quoting information given by operators Tomax Team.

In Nairobi Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said Friday the cargo includes "military hardware such as tanks and an assortment of spare parts for use by different branches of the Kenyan military."

"The government is in contact with international maritime agencies and other security partners in an endeavour to secure the ship and cargo," he said in a statement.

"However, it should be noted that because the ship had not yet docked at Mombasa, the responsibility of the insured cargo rests with the shipper."

In Kiev, Ukrainian Defence Minister Yury Yekhanurov said the Faina was carrying 33 T-72 tanks, grenade-launchers and ammunition.

Lawmaker Valery Konovalyuk, head of a parliamentary committee that oversees Ukraine's arms deals, told AFP the tanks had been sold to Kenya.

The cargo was one of the last shipments under a contract which saw 77 tanks supplied in 2007, he said.

The Soviet-era T-72 was a frontline tank in Warsaw Pact states and is still in service in more than 30 countries. The tanks and other weaponry carried on the Faina would be greatly prized by any of the warlords fighting each other in lawless Somalia.

Dozens of ships, mainly merchant vessels, have been seized by gangs off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coastline in recent years, despite the presence of Western navies deployed in the region to fight terrorism.

The pirates use speedboats and are armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. The harbour at Eyl, in the breakaway northern Somali province of Puntland, is a favourite hideout, and they sometimes hold ships for weeks until they are released for large ransoms paid by governments or owners.

In recent months, a multinational taskforce based in Djibouti has been patrolling parts of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, where a pirate mothership is believed to be operating.

French naval commandos took action against pirates who seized two sailing vessels with French citizens aboard and arrested a dozen suspects.

They were brought to France and are awaiting trial on charges of hijacking, hostage-taking and armed robbery, which carry life sentences.

Somalia has been without an effective central authority since the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre set off a deadly power struggle that has defied more than a dozen peace initiatives.

Some pirates have justified their actions by claiming that, in the absence of a functional central authority in Somalia, they were battling illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping by foreign countries.

http://n.yam.com/afp/international/200809/20080917848759.html
奉總統之令 法突擊隊奇襲海盜 解救人質  
法新社╱毛盈超 2008-09-17 00:20     

 
（法新社巴黎十六日電）法國總統沙柯吉今天表示，法國突擊隊發動攻堅，救出兩週前遭索馬利亞海盜挾為人質的一對法國夫婦，並擊斃一名海盜，逮捕六人。

沙柯吉說，他下令攻堅救人，突擊隊昨晚在駐亞丁灣法國戰艦支援下發動奇襲，明白向「這群犯罪集團」發出警訊。

沙柯吉在巴黎記者會上指出，這支三十人突擊隊不到十分鐘便安全救出人質德拉尼夫婦。

沙柯吉說：「法國不會容忍犯罪得逞。」沙柯吉並呼籲國際通力合作，保護亞丁灣和周邊海域水道航運的安全。亞丁灣及其周邊海域因海盜猖獗，成為全球最危險的水域。

海盜於九月二日控制了德拉尼夫婦的遊艇，將他們劫持為人質，勒索贖金。
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080916/wl_afp/somaliaunrestpiracyfrance_080916154427;_ylt=AheuOynEBpXZtNU.AjCA4AuQOrgF
French commandos free hostages from Somali pirates

1 hour, 27 minutes ago
 

PARIS (AFP) - French commandos freed a couple seized by pirates off Somalia in the second such mission this year, leading President Nicolas Sarkozy to call Tuesday for an international crackdown on sea raiders.

The special forces operation, ordered by Sarkozy late Monday, came as officials said heavily-armed pirates had attacked a Hong Kong-registered chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden, taking its crew of 22 hostage.

Thirty commandos killed one pirate and detained six others in an operation lasting less than 10 minutes to free Jean-Yves Delanne and his wife Bernadette, both 60, Sarkozy told a press conference.

A French warship backed the commandos for the operation carried out at sea outside Somali waters.

The six captured men were to be transferred to France, which is already holding six Somalis seized in a commando operation in April.

The French leader said the assault was a "warning" to pirates plaguing the Somali coastline, the world's most dangerous waters for merchant ships, fishing fleets and pleasure yachts alike.

The hijackers captured the Delanne couple in their yacht the Carre d'As on September 2, and were reportedly demanding a ransom of more than one million dollars, as well as the release of their six compatriots.

Sailing enthusiasts based in Tahiti, the couple were on their way from Australia to France when they were attacked.

Sarkozy said both were safe on the French warship, the Courbet, and were being taken to Djibouti.

"This is a huge relief. All we can say is thank you, thank you so much," their daughter Alizee told French radio.

French commandos staged a raid on April 11 to release a French luxury yacht, Le Ponant, and its 30 crew.

The French president said he ordered the new operation after it became clear the pirates were heading for their coastal base in the town of Eyl, in Somalia's northeastern semi-autonomous Puntland region.

"France will not allow crime to pay," Sarkozy said. "This operation is a warning to all those who indulge in this criminal activity. This is a call for the mobilisation of the international community."

Sarkozy said he backed the creation of a "marine police" to secure the region, and "punitive action" against pirates, saying the issue would be raised at next week's United Nations general assembly in New York.

He also thanked Germany and Malaysia for their help with the operation, without giving further details.

The authorities in Puntland welcomed the French move.

"The state of Puntland encourages such steps and calls on other governments whose nationals are being held to do the same thing," Puntland presidential adviser Bille Mohamoud Qabowsade said.

Since July, 12 ships have been hijacked in the narrow waterway separating Yemen and Somalia by pirates operating high-powered speedboats, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Eleven are still being held for ransom.

Two rockets were fired at a French tuna fishing boat some 700 kilometres (435 miles) off Somalia on Saturday, in a sign the pirates are moving further out to sea to evade military patrols in coastal shipping areas.

In recent months, a multinational task force based in Djibouti has been patrolling parts of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, where a pirate mothership is believed to be operating.

France and Spain called in July for the creation of an international force to tackle piracy in the region, which is hampering the delivery of vital food aid to the lawless Horn of Africa nation.

The UN Security Council in June adopted a resolution authorising foreign warships to enter Somalia's territorial waters with the government's consent to combat pirates, though it has yet to be implemented.

European foreign ministers agreed Monday to set up a special unit to coordinate the fight against piracy off Somalia, raising the possibility of an EU naval mission to the region.

遇到海盜的是bunga melati 5,上個月來我這裝貨的是bunga melati 3..

天呀!這年頭還有海盜...她們也是要到偉大航路去嗎?還是要去世界的盡頭?

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200808/20080831480772.html
亞丁灣海盜猖獗　馬來西亞又一化學輪遭劫 
法新社╱劉學源 2008-08-31 00:50      
 
 
（法新社吉隆坡三十日電）馬來西亞國際航運公司今天發表聲明說，該公司昨天又有一艘載運石化產品的化學輪在惡名昭彰的亞丁灣遭海盜劫持，船上有四十一名船員，包括三十六名馬來西亞人和五名菲律賓人。亞丁灣近幾週海盜活動猖獗，這次出事地點在葉門外海。

聲明表示：「很遺憾地宣布，公司旗下另一艘化學輪於八月二十九日遭身分不明海盜劫持。」

在此之前，該公司另一艘載運棕櫚油的貨輪，剛於八月二十日在索馬利亞外海遭海盜劫持，船上有三十九名船員。

聲明說，「MT Bunga Melati 5號在安全航道附近航行，於遭海盜劫持前曾採取逃避措施。」

這艘化學輪載滿三萬公噸石化產品，當時正自沙烏地阿拉伯的揚布駛往新加坡途中。

聲明又說，附近區域以美軍為首的聯軍部隊曾接獲海盜攻擊通知，「但由於顧慮到船員安全，未能阻止這起劫持事件」。

設在吉隆坡的國際海事局海盜通報中心負責人鍾諾艾証實這起攻擊事件，並呼籲聯合國對該海盜猖獗海域採取行動。

鍾諾艾告訴法新社：「我們証實有一艘化學輪在葉門附近的亞丁灣遭劫持，我們呼籲聯合國和國際社會遏止海盜威脅，國際社會擁有能維護亞丁灣海域安全的戰艦。」

他指出，這艘化學輪是自七月二十日以來，在亞丁灣海域遭海盜劫持的第八艘船隻。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080830/wl_asia_afp/somaliaunrestshippingpiracy_080830175404;_ylt=AhRVnAos.k8bJtWISiYz3zntOrgF
Pirates seize second Malaysian tanker off Somalia

Sat Aug 30, 1:54 PM ET

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Pirates have seized a Malaysian chemical tanker off Somalia, 10 days after a sister ship was hijacked in the same section of the Gulf of Aden, maritime officials said Saturday.
 
The Bunga Melati 5 was reportedly hijacked Friday about 14 nautical miles off the coast of Yemen, said Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers Assistance Programme in the Kenyan port of Mombassa.

"Her sister ship Bunga Melati Dua was also hijacked in the same location mid-last week," he told AFP. The number of crew members involved, and their nationalities, were not known.

In the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia, officials confirmed that, according to local elders, a tanker seized by pirates was laying at anchor near the village of Rasbina.

"We are not sure the time it was hijacked," said Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, a special adviser in the Puntland presidency.

"But we have confirmed that the tanker is different than other (hijacked) ships," he said. "It's loaded with chemicals and could endanger the environment."

The Bunga Melati 5 and the Bunga Melati Dua are among 13 chemical tankers operated by MISC Berhad, based in Kuala Lumpur.

In an apparent reference to the latter vessel, the International Maritime Bureau said pirates armed with automatic weapons hijacked a chemical tanker and its 19 crew members on August 21 in the Gulf of Aden.

"The vessel was carrying a cargo of flammable chemical cargo from Fos, France to India," it said, adding that warships from an international naval coalition that patrols Somali waters were summoned to help.

Fos-sur-Mer is near the main French Mediterranean port of Marseille.

Somali waters are among the most dangerous in the world, with the International Maritime Bureau reporting no less than 24 acts of piracy there in the first half of this year.

http://news.yam.com/cna/international/200808/20080820264332.html
馬國一艘運油船在印度洋遭劫 損失250萬美元 
中央社╱中央社 2008-08-20 22:01
     
（中央社記者康世人新加坡二十日專電）馬來西亞國家石油公司旗下船運公司MISC Berhad的一艘運油船，昨天在印度洋遭海盜洗劫，損失市價約兩百五十萬美元的棕油。

設在馬來西亞首都吉隆坡的國際海事局海盜案件回報中心指出，這艘運油船「Bunga Melati Dua」是於格林威治標準時間昨天下午二時許，在索馬利亞和葉門之間的亞丁灣被海盜洗劫。

MISC Berhad今天發表聲明表示，已經接到「BungaMelati Dua」遭海盜洗劫的消息。這艘遭洗劫的運油船運載了三萬兩千公噸的棕油，市價約兩百五十萬美元，這些棕油是從印尼蘇門答臘準備運往荷蘭鹿特丹。

聲明說，這艘運油船上共有三十九名船務人員，包括二十九名馬來西亞人及十名菲律賓人。

國際海事局海盜案件回報中心已經通知附近海域以美國軍艦為首的海軍武力，前往索馬利亞水域攔截遭劫持的運油船。

國際海事局指出，這已經是這個月以來第四艘在這個水域遭海盜洗劫的船隻，呼籲聯合國和國際社會立刻採取行動，阻止海盜在這個水域猖獗。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200806/20080610888736.html
索馬利亞政府與主要反對陣營簽署停戰協定
法新社╱張仲琬 2008-06-10 13:35     
 
 
（法新社吉布地九日電）聯合國發言人向「法新社」表示，索馬利亞政府今天與主要反對敵營，在聯合國主持的吉布地會談中，簽署為期三個月的停戰協議。

寄給媒體的協議內容表示：「武裝衝突停戰協定，簽署三十天後起於全國生效。」

協議規定，首次停火期間將維持九十天，之後將再更新協定。

索馬利亞總理哈山與「索馬利亞再解放聯盟」（ARS）領袖阿邁德，今天在阿拉伯聯盟、非洲聯盟、歐洲聯盟、美國與沙烏地阿拉伯見證的儀式下，簽署這項協議。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080609/wl_africa_afp/somaliaunresttalksdjiboutiun_080609200249;_ylt=Avf7W9vM91f4vukia2D0Q9CXsdEF
Somali factions sign truce at UN-backed talks: UN

by Nasser Fahmi
Mon Jun 9, 4:02 PM ET

DJIBOUTI (AFP) - The Somali government and its main political foes signed a three-month cessation of hostilities accord at UN-sponsored peace talks in Djibouti Monday, a UN spokeswoman told AFP.
 
"The cessation of armed confrontation shall come into force 30 days from the signing of this agreement throughout the national territory," said the text of the deal sent to reporters.

It will cover an initial period of 90 days after which it will be renewed.

Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein and Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) chief Sheikh Sharif Ahmed signed the accord at the ceremony witnessed by the Arab League, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The ARS is an opposition umbrella group dominated by Islamists and based in the Eritrean capital of Asmara.

While some Islamist leaders and influential clan leaders joined the talks, other hardline Islamists, insisting the mediation was biased, have maintained their call for an Ethiopian withdrawal before any talks.

The rivals asked the United Nations to deploy peacekeepers from countries friendly to Somalia -- excluding neighbouring states -- within 120 days from the day the armistice takes effect, the text said.

Over the same period, the government "will act in accordance with the decision that has already been taken by the Ethiopian government to withdraw its troops from Somalia after the deployment of a sufficient number of UN forces."

They agreed to form a UN-chaired Joint Security Committee within 15 days of signing to oversee the truce implementation. They will also meet on July 30 to discuss political cooperation, justice and reconciliation.

The parties urged the international community to fund the implementation process and pledged to consider convening an international reconstruction and development conference for Somalia within six months.

They agreed to facilitate unhindered humanitarian access to some 2.6 million needy Somalis.

Susannah Price, the spokeswoman for the top UN envoy to Somalia, told AFP the delegates were yet to decide on the fate of this round of talks, which opened May 31 following a similar first round that ended on May 16.

The accord was inked as Mogadishu remains under artillery fire from feuding insurgents and Somali forces backed by Ethiopian allies.

The negotiations received a boost on June 2 with the visit of a delegation from the UN Security Council, which was touring Africa last week.

The African Union, which has some 2,600 peacekeepers deployed in Somalia -- short of the pledged 8,000 troops -- has also lent its support to the Djibouti talks.

The AU's Peace and Security Council has urged Somali factions that have so far shunned the process to join it, in a bid to end more than 17 years of conflict.

Ethiopian forces deployed in 2006 and ousted Islamists from south and central Somalia where they had imposed Islamic law, or the sharia.

But the Islamists have waged a guerrilla war since then, which according to international rights groups and aid agencies has left at least 6,000 civilians dead.

The country has been plagued by an uninterrupted civil war since the 1991 overthrow of president Mohamed Siad Barre. A string of previous peace initiatives and truce deals have failed.

http://udn.com/NEWS/WORLD/WOR3/4324134.shtml
美轟索馬利亞 凱達首腦炸死
 
【聯合報╱編譯張佑生／綜合報導】 2008.05.02 03:00 am
 
 
美軍戰機1日轟炸索馬利亞，在當地領導叛軍的索國凱達恐怖組織首腦艾洛等31人被炸死，這是叛軍自去年坐大以來，遭受到美軍最大的打擊。

在阿富汗受訓的艾洛，將伊拉克式的伊斯蘭激進分子作戰模式引進索馬利亞，頻頻在索國首都內外發動打帶跑的戰鬥。倫敦安全智庫「亞太基金會」主席戈赫表示，剷除艾洛是很重要的一步，但是凱達在索國的滲透早已無孔不入，艾洛被炸死對叛軍是挫敗，但不到致命的程度。

艾洛是索馬利亞的叛軍領袖，從去年起頻頻攻擊政府軍和增援的衣索匹亞軍隊。叛軍發言人羅柏證實，敵軍在當地時間1日凌晨2時左右轟炸中部大城杜沙馬列布，一間房屋被炸毀，屍塊四散：「我們有兩號重要人物被炸死，包括艾洛。」

一名當地人表示，共發現30具屍體。目擊者說，屋子被夷為平地，屍塊遍布，「人們用算頭顱的方式來統計確切的死亡人數。」

【2008/05/02 聯合報】

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080501/wl_afp/somaliaunrestusattacks_080501164807
US air strike kills Al-Qaeda leader in Somalia: officials

by Mustafa Haji Abdinur
Thu May 1, 12:48 PM ET

MOGADISHU (AFP) - A US air strike in Somalia killed at least 12 people on Thursday, including a man said to be Al-Qaeda's military leader in the war-torn country, Ethiopian officials and rebels said.
 
The militant leader was named as Moalim Aden Hashi Ayro who trained with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and had been linked to the deaths of foreign aid workers in Somalia. He had been a target of a US air strike in 2007.

In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed an attack on an Al-Qaeda military leader in Somalia but declined to identify him and would not initially say whether the mission had been successful.

"Until we have an opportunity to analyze the strike, we don't want to reveal any information," spokesman for the Defense Department's Central Command Lieutenant Joe Holstead told AFP.

The Ethiopian government, a key US ally in Africa and the main supporter of Somalia's embattled government, said the United States staged the raid on a house in Dhusamareb, in the Galgudud region of central Somalia.

"This attack was purely performed by the Americans," Ethiopia's Information Minister Berhane Hailu told AFP in Addis Ababa. "It will further weaken the cells of Al-Qaeda in Somalia. It has some value for peace and stability in Somalia."

A war plane dropped three large bombs on the house at about 2:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday), according to resident Jamal Mohamoud.

"We are still digging debris at the house that was totally demolished. We have so far recovered 10 bodies, including that of Ayro. Three people who were injured have been taken to hospital," Abshir Moalim Ali, an elder in Dhusamareb told AFP.

"Two more people who were admitted in a hospital died of injuries. They were civilians seriously wounded in a nearby house," another elder Hussein Haji Mohamed said later Thursday.

Ayro was military leader of the Shabab, a group on the US government's terrorist list. Another senior Islamist was among the dead, the militant group said.

Shabab spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow said Ayro and another senior Islamist, Sheikh Muhyadin Omar, were among the dead from the air strike.

"A US warplane bombed us in Dhusamareb district and there were casualties. This was an unprovoked attack," said Robow, whose group is a radical wing of the Islamist movement which is fighting the Somalia's Ethiopian-backed transitional government.

Ayro and Omar are "the most important Shabab members who were victims of this foreign aggression. They passed away as they were fighting the liberation of their land," the spokesman added.

In March last year, the Somali government said Al-Qaeda had named Aryo as its leader in the country. In his early 30s, he carried out insurgency training in Afghanistan in the 1990s and ran a secret militia training centre.

The US government added Shabab to its list of terrorist organisations in March, saying its senior leaders were believed to have trained and fought with Osama bin Laden's network in Afghanistan.

The attack was the fourth of its kind staged by the United States inside Somalia since the start of 2007.

-- In March, the US military fired at least one cruise missile into southern Somalia near the Kenyan border, targeting Al-Qaeda leaders and operatives believed hiding there.

-- In June last year, a US Navy destroyer shelled suspected Al-Qaeda targets in mountainous and remote areas in northeastern Somalia where local Islamist militants are also believed to have bases.

-- In January 2007, a US helicopter gunship hit insurgent positions in southern Somalia to help Somali government forces.

US officials said the previous attacks were aimed at "high-value" Al-Qaeda militants.

Among them were Comoros islander Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Kenyan Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and Sudanese Abu Talha al-Sudani, blamed for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and the 2002 bombing of a Kenyan coastal hotel that killed 15 people.

Officials said Ayro survived the January 2007 US airstrike in southern Somalia but left behind blood-stained identification documents.

Ayro is said to have overseen the desecration of an Italian cemetery in Mogadishu, exhuming and throwing into the sea the remains of hundreds of corpses. He reportedly ordered a makeshift mosque erected there.

In addition to leading operations against Somali and Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers, Ayro has also been linked to the murders of foreign aid workers in Somalia.

Since the Islamists were ousted from Mogadishu in early 2007, they have carried out attacks against government officials, Ethiopian forces backing the Somali government and African Union peacekeepers.

Western intelligence has accused Somali Islamists of having links to Al-Qaeda, which is believed to want to use war-shattered Somalia as a haven.