US drone attack on al Qaeda group in Somalia - report
Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:24 GMT
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The United States conducted a drone attack in Somalia, apparently wounding two senior members of al Shabaab, a militant Somalia group with ties to al Qaeda, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Citing a senior U.S. military official, the newspaper said the drone strike last week targeted two al Shabaab leaders who had "direct ties" to U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki who escaped a U.S. drone attack in Yemen.
In a report late Wednesday on its website, The Washington Post said U.S. officials have "picked up intelligence" that al Shabaab leaders intended to expand beyond Somalia.
"They have become somewhat emboldened of late, and, as a result, we have become more focused on inhibiting their activities," the official said. "They were planning operations outside of Somalia."
With this strike in Somalia, the United States has now used drones to attack in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq and Yemen, the newspaper noted.
The White House declined to answer The Washington Post's questions about the attack.
((Americas desk 1 202 898 8457; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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