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| French commandos 'attack militant base in Somalia' | French commandos 'attack militant base in Somalia' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Reports from Somalia suggest French commandos have carried out an operation to free a hostage, in which a number of people died. | |
| Witnesses in Bulo Marer said they had heard a helicopter above the southern town before explosions and gunfire. | Witnesses in Bulo Marer said they had heard a helicopter above the southern town before explosions and gunfire. |
| Al-Shabab militants are believed to be holding a Frenchman hostage there. | |
| An al-Shabab spokesman told AFP news agency "several" French soldiers had been killed, in a claim which could not be confirmed independently. | An al-Shabab spokesman told AFP news agency "several" French soldiers had been killed, in a claim which could not be confirmed independently. |
| The reported operation in eastern Africa came hours after France announced the start of a military intervention in the west African state of Mali, to support the government there against Islamist militants. | |
| It was not immediately clear if the two events were connected. | |
| A French secret agent named as Denis Allex was kidnapped in Somalia in July 2009 along with a colleague who was freed the following month. | |
| 'Rescue bid' | |
| A Somali intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to AP news agency, said French commandos had attacked the base in an apparent bid to rescue a foreign hostage. | |
| Mohamed Ali, a resident of Bulo Marer, described the events of Friday night by phone. | |
| "We heard a series of explosions followed by gunfire just seconds after a helicopter flew over the town," he told AP. | |
| "We don't know exactly what happened but the place was an al-Shabab base and checkpoint." | |
| Another resident of the town, Idris Youssouf, told AFP that details were sketchy because the attack had happened at night. | |
| "But this morning we saw several corpses including that of a white man," he added. | |
| He said three civilians had also died in the fighting. | |
| According to the website Somali Memo, which is broadly supportive of al-Shabab, militants fought off the French commandos. | |
| Following the fighting, the situation in the town was calm and the militants had brought in reinforcements, the website said. |