This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7376760.stm
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 10 | Version 11 |
|---|---|
| Air raid kills Somali militants | Air raid kills Somali militants |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The leader of the military wing of an Islamist insurgent organisation in Somalia has been killed in an overnight air strike. | The leader of the military wing of an Islamist insurgent organisation in Somalia has been killed in an overnight air strike. |
| Aden Hashi Ayro, al-Shabab's military commander, died when his home in the central town of Dusamareb was bombed. | Aden Hashi Ayro, al-Shabab's military commander, died when his home in the central town of Dusamareb was bombed. |
| Ten other people, including a senior militant, are also reported dead. | Ten other people, including a senior militant, are also reported dead. |
| A US military spokesman told the BBC that it had attacked what he called a known al-Qaeda target in Somalia, but refused to give further details. | A US military spokesman told the BBC that it had attacked what he called a known al-Qaeda target in Somalia, but refused to give further details. |
| Al-Shabab, considered a terrorist group by the US, is the military wing of the Somali Sharia courts movement, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), until Ethiopian troops ousted them in 2006. | Al-Shabab, considered a terrorist group by the US, is the military wing of the Somali Sharia courts movement, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), until Ethiopian troops ousted them in 2006. |
| The group has since regrouped and is in effect in control of large parts of central and southern Somalia. | The group has since regrouped and is in effect in control of large parts of central and southern Somalia. |
| 'Infidel planes' | 'Infidel planes' |
| An al-Shabab spokesman, Mukhtar Robow Adumansur, told the BBC that Ayro was killed along with another militant commander in the attack. | |
| Locals said it happened at about 0300 (2400 GMT). | Locals said it happened at about 0300 (2400 GMT). |
| Profile: Somalia's Islamic 'lads'Q&A: Somali conflict | Profile: Somalia's Islamic 'lads'Q&A: Somali conflict |
| "We heard a huge explosion and when we ran out of our house we saw balls of smoke and flames coming out of house," Dusamareb resident Nur Geele told the BBC. | |
| "The house was totally destroyed to the ground, also other houses nearby," local elder Ahmed Mumin Jama said. | |
| Ayro received training in Afghanistan in the 1990s and was an instrumental military figure as the UIC took control of Mogadishu in the second half of 2006, says the head of the BBC's Somali Service Yusuf Garaad. | |
| The US says al-Shabab is part of the al-Qaeda network, although correspondents say it is impossible to accurately establish those links. | The US says al-Shabab is part of the al-Qaeda network, although correspondents say it is impossible to accurately establish those links. |
| Al-Shabab leaders say it is a purely Somali movement and they deny any involvement with al-Qaeda. | Al-Shabab leaders say it is a purely Somali movement and they deny any involvement with al-Qaeda. |
| 'No longer safe' | |
| Mr Robow warned that there would now be revenge attacks by the al-Shabab. | |
| "This incident will cause a lot problems to US interests in the region and the governments who support the US, by that I mean its allies who are puppets," he said, referring to Ethiopia which backs Somalia's interim government. | |
| "I am letting the citizens of the US and the allies know they are not going to be safe in this area." | |
| In its annual report on terrorism published on Wednesday, the US said al-Shabab militants in Somalia, along with al-Qaeda militants in east Africa, posed "the most serious threat to American and allied interests in the region". | In its annual report on terrorism published on Wednesday, the US said al-Shabab militants in Somalia, along with al-Qaeda militants in east Africa, posed "the most serious threat to American and allied interests in the region". |
| Al-Shabab has been at the forefront of a guerrilla insurgency against the government and its Ethiopian allies since early 2007. | Al-Shabab has been at the forefront of a guerrilla insurgency against the government and its Ethiopian allies since early 2007. |
| In recent weeks, they have briefly captured several towns in central and southern Somalia before withdrawing. | In recent weeks, they have briefly captured several towns in central and southern Somalia before withdrawing. |
| The US has launched several air strikes against suspected extremist targets in Somalia in recent months. | The US has launched several air strikes against suspected extremist targets in Somalia in recent months. |
| It has an anti-terror task force based in neighbouring Djibouti, and has accused Somali Islamists of harbouring those responsible for the 1998 attacks on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. | It has an anti-terror task force based in neighbouring Djibouti, and has accused Somali Islamists of harbouring those responsible for the 1998 attacks on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. |
| The Islamists denied this. | The Islamists denied this. |
| Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991. | Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991. |
| Are you in Somalia? Are you in Dusamareb? What do you think of the air strike? Send us your comments. | |
| name="say"> |