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Islamist town 'bombed' in Somalia 'US planes' bomb town in Somalia
(30 minutes later)
An Islamist-held town in southern Somalia has been hit by three missiles, fired by a US plane, local elders say.An Islamist-held town in southern Somalia has been hit by three missiles, fired by a US plane, local elders say.
Abdullahi Sheikh Duale said that four civilians had been killed in Dhoble, near the Kenyan border. The US bombed the area a year ago, trying to target Islamists, and residents say it was the same plane but the US authorities have not commented.
A spokesman for Islamist insurgents backed up the claims, reports the AFP news agency but there has been no comment from the US authorities. Six people were killed in the air strikes on Dhoble town and 20 wounded.
The US bombed Somalia a year ago, trying to target Islamist leaders and terror suspects as they fled Mogadishu. Somalia's Islamist insurgents seized the town last week and one of their leaders Hassan Turki was reportedly in the area over the weekend.
Senior Islamist official Hassan Turki had visited the town on Sunday, reports the AP news agency. "We woke up with a loud and big bang and when we came out we found our neighbour's house completely obliterated as if no house existed here," local resident Fatuma Abdullahi told the BBC.
"We woke up with a loud and big bang and when we came out we found our neighbour's house completely obliterated as if no house existed here," local resident Fatuma Abdullahi told AP.
Islamist spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow said the US was trying to hit Islamist hideouts in the area.Islamist spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow said the US was trying to hit Islamist hideouts in the area.
The Islamists took control of the town last week. "The Americans bombed the town and hit civilians targets thinking that they were Islamist hideouts. They used an AC-130 plane," he told the AFP news agency.
They were ousted from the capital, Mogadishu in December 2006 by government forces, backed up by Ethiopia, with some intelligence from the US. The Islamists were ousted from the capital, Mogadishu in December 2006 by government forces, backed up by Ethiopia, with some intelligence from the US.
The US has an anti-terror task force based in nearby Djibouti.The US has an anti-terror task force based in nearby Djibouti.
It accused the Somali Islamists of harbouring those responsible for the 1998 attacks on its embassies in Kenyan and Tanzania.It accused the Somali Islamists of harbouring those responsible for the 1998 attacks on its embassies in Kenyan and Tanzania.