At 3:25 a.m. on 3 March 2008, two BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by a United States Navy warship hit the village of Dobley in Somalia.[1] According to US military officials the target of the attack was an al-Qaeda leader. Dobley district commissioner Ali Hussein Nuir stated that Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki, a local militant cleric was meeting with leaders of a Mogadishu-based militant group nearby.[2][1] Varying reports of casualties surfaced with villagers reporting that between four and six people were dead. It is unclear whether these casualties were targets or civilians. Villagers also reported that an aircraft had attacked them, but US military officials denied these reports merely stating that an attack had indeed occurred and that they were looking into the results. At least two previous attacks of a similar nature occurred in 2007 where American forces targeted suspected al-Qaeda operatives in Ras Kamboni as well as in Bargal.
| Dobley airstrike | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Somalia War (2006–2009) | |
| Type | Missile attack |
| Location | Dobley, Somalia |
| Target | Al-Qaeda militants |
| Date | 3 March 2008 |
| Executed by |  United States Navy |
| Casualties | 4–6 killed |
Jane's Defence Weekly, writing in its 12 March 2008 issue, said the attack was reportedly carried out by a US Navy submarine, firing Tomahawks.[3] Jane's said several news reports said the target of the attack was Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with the 2002 Mombasa attacks in Kenya against a hotel and a civilian airliner.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Daskal, Jennifer; Lefkow, Leslie (28 March 2008). "Off-target". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "USA launches missile strike in Somalia". France 24. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Hodge, Nathan (12 March 2008). "US strikes Al-Qaeda target located in southern Somalia". Jane's Defence Weekly. Vol. 45, no. 11. p. 18.
External links edit
- US missile strike targets 'Al-Qaeda leader' in Somalia
- Al-Qaeda Terrorist Leader Targeted in Somali Town
- US launches strike in Somalia against al-Qaeda throughout, including aim of January 2007 US strikes