CNN：美军4日到5日间在利比亚和索马里开展了反恐作战， ...

美国官员称，美军4日到5日间在利比亚和索马里开展了反恐特种作战，但是这两地作战之间是否有关联并未说明。在利比亚当局的配合下，美军成功抓获1998年袭击美国驻坦桑尼亚和肯尼亚大使馆的基地组织头目。而美海军海豹突击队在索马里南部袭击了索马里青年党头目，该组织被美国政府认定为恐怖组织，策划了上个月肯尼亚西门商场人质事件。由于受到索马里青年党的猛烈还击，美军在未确认是否击毙其头目的情况下撤退，战斗过程中美军无人伤亡。
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/0 ... ndex.html?hpt=hp_t1
U.S. forces take part in 2 Africa raids targeting alleged terrorists

By Barbara Starr. Evan Perez and Greg Botelho, CNN
October 6, 2013 -- Updated 0100 GMT (0900 HKT)

(CNN) -- U.S. military forces were involved in two separate operations in Africa -- one of them targeting a member of the group Al-Shabaab, which was behind last month's Kenya mall attack, and the other going after an al Qaeda leader tied to the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies.

The Al-Shabaab raid took place in Somalia, where that terrorist group is based, sometime in the past 24 hours, a senior U.S. official said Saturday evening.

The team of U.S. Navy SEALs had to withdraw before it could confirm whether it killed the target because they came under fire, the official said. The SEALs made the "prudent decision" to withdraw rather than engage in further combat, according to the official.

The other mission ended in the capture of Abu Anas al Libi, who is suspected to have played a significant role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Nairobi, Kenya, U.S. officials said.

The key al Qaeda operative was captured by U.S. special operations forces in Tripoli, Libya, according to the officials.

This U.S. operation was conducted with the knowledge of the Libyan government, said one U.S. official.

It was not immediately known if the two operations were coordinated or even related: While Al-Shabaab is affiliated with al Qaeda, it is not known that al Libi had any connection with that group or was linked to last month's deadly attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall.

Still, it shows the U.S. military's capabilities to strike quickly against terrorists -- and not just using unmanned drones, as have been frequently used in Yemen, Pakistan and other locales.

Al Libi tied to U.S. embassy bombings

Al Libi has been high on the radar for years -- as evidenced by the fact he's on the FBI's list of "Most Wanted Terrorists," which notes there was a $5 million reward for information leading directly to his apprehension or conviction.

He is alleged to have played a key role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed and another 5,000 wounded in the Kenya attack, with 11 more dying in the other.

U.S. officials have wanted al Libi, 49, to face trial in an American court. As is, he's been indicted on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, murder, destruction of American buildings and government property, and destruction of national defense utilities of the United States.

The al Qaeda member had been seen in Tripoli, as CNN was first to report back in September 2012, citing Western intelligence sources. These sources said there was concern that al Libi was working to establish an al Qaeda network in Libya.

"It's a huge deal to get him," said CNN's Nic Robertson, who has been covering al Qaeda in depth for decades. "He's a big player in al Qaeda (and) he is in one of the key target areas, the north of Africa."

Beyond any psychological impact on al Qaeda, al Libi's capture could potentially yield a wealth of information about the group's plans and capabilities. The terrorist network has shown particular strength of late in Africa, something he might be able to shed light on.

"Clearly, he may have useful information about the strength of al Qaeda and the Islamists in Libya," Robertson said. "He is somebody who is senior within al Qaeda. He was well respected, a good operative."

Al-Shabaab blamed for Kenya mall attack

Photos: Kenya mall attack Photos: Kenya mall attack
Al-Shabaab long has been a target of Washington as well: It was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008. The group is seeking to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, though it has targeted people outside that African country as well.

While the Somali group has been linked to a number of attacks, its most recent one on Nairobi's Westgate Mall -- which left at least 67 people dead -- thrust it into the spotlight once again. Washington vowed to support Kenya's government after the bloody, multi-day raid, which raised concerns that something like it could happen in the United States.

Why exactly U.S. forces went after the group recently in southern Somalia wasn't immediately known.

It's not believed that any SEALs died in that raid.

South-central Somalia is where most of the group's foreign fighters and leaders live and is heavily guarded. The group there has been increasingly squeezed as Kenyan forces fight the group from the south and African Union forces come down from Mogadishu.

In the meantime, it's become even closer to al Qaeda -- with the two groups effectively merging last year, according to CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.

"This is a group that has adopted al Qaeda's ideology wholesale," Bergen said of Al-Shabaab, noting that more and more it's reach extends beyond Somalia. "The reason they attacked the mall was not only because it was Kenyan, but also because it attracted a fair number of Western businessmen and others living in Nairobi."

Analyst: Operations send a 'real signal'

The United States made significant efforts since those nearly simultaneous 1998 bombings to beef up its security at U.S. diplomatic posts. But as the September 11, 2012, attack on a U.S consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya -- which left four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, dead -- showed that, despite the added precautions, they are still very much under threat.

The twin military operations targeting alleged terrorists should raise such concerns even more, not just at U.S. embassies but at other places that Americans and other Westerns congregate.

Still, the fact U.S. forces struck out -- at a time when polls show the U.S. public has been skittish about more involvement in conflicts overseas -- is significant, says retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona.

The operations in Somalia and Libya may not have been coordinated, but they shared the fact they both went after "high-value targets," said Francona, an author and CNN military analyst. That means that others that might be in the U.S. government's crosshairs could have more reason to worry.

"One could have gone without the other, but the fact that they did them both, I think, is a real signal that the United States -- no matter how long it takes -- will go after these targets," Francona said.

CNN's Elise Labott and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report美国官员称，美军4日到5日间在利比亚和索马里开展了反恐特种作战，但是这两地作战之间是否有关联并未说明。在利比亚当局的配合下，美军成功抓获1998年袭击美国驻坦桑尼亚和肯尼亚大使馆的基地组织头目。而美海军海豹突击队在索马里南部袭击了索马里青年党头目，该组织被美国政府认定为恐怖组织，策划了上个月肯尼亚西门商场人质事件。由于受到索马里青年党的猛烈还击，美军在未确认是否击毙其头目的情况下撤退，战斗过程中美军无人伤亡。
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/0 ... ndex.html?hpt=hp_t1
U.S. forces take part in 2 Africa raids targeting alleged terrorists

By Barbara Starr. Evan Perez and Greg Botelho, CNN
October 6, 2013 -- Updated 0100 GMT (0900 HKT)

(CNN) -- U.S. military forces were involved in two separate operations in Africa -- one of them targeting a member of the group Al-Shabaab, which was behind last month's Kenya mall attack, and the other going after an al Qaeda leader tied to the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies.

The Al-Shabaab raid took place in Somalia, where that terrorist group is based, sometime in the past 24 hours, a senior U.S. official said Saturday evening.

The team of U.S. Navy SEALs had to withdraw before it could confirm whether it killed the target because they came under fire, the official said. The SEALs made the "prudent decision" to withdraw rather than engage in further combat, according to the official.

The other mission ended in the capture of Abu Anas al Libi, who is suspected to have played a significant role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Nairobi, Kenya, U.S. officials said.

The key al Qaeda operative was captured by U.S. special operations forces in Tripoli, Libya, according to the officials.

This U.S. operation was conducted with the knowledge of the Libyan government, said one U.S. official.

It was not immediately known if the two operations were coordinated or even related: While Al-Shabaab is affiliated with al Qaeda, it is not known that al Libi had any connection with that group or was linked to last month's deadly attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall.

Still, it shows the U.S. military's capabilities to strike quickly against terrorists -- and not just using unmanned drones, as have been frequently used in Yemen, Pakistan and other locales.

Al Libi tied to U.S. embassy bombings

Al Libi has been high on the radar for years -- as evidenced by the fact he's on the FBI's list of "Most Wanted Terrorists," which notes there was a $5 million reward for information leading directly to his apprehension or conviction.

He is alleged to have played a key role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed and another 5,000 wounded in the Kenya attack, with 11 more dying in the other.

U.S. officials have wanted al Libi, 49, to face trial in an American court. As is, he's been indicted on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, murder, destruction of American buildings and government property, and destruction of national defense utilities of the United States.

The al Qaeda member had been seen in Tripoli, as CNN was first to report back in September 2012, citing Western intelligence sources. These sources said there was concern that al Libi was working to establish an al Qaeda network in Libya.

"It's a huge deal to get him," said CNN's Nic Robertson, who has been covering al Qaeda in depth for decades. "He's a big player in al Qaeda (and) he is in one of the key target areas, the north of Africa."

Beyond any psychological impact on al Qaeda, al Libi's capture could potentially yield a wealth of information about the group's plans and capabilities. The terrorist network has shown particular strength of late in Africa, something he might be able to shed light on.

"Clearly, he may have useful information about the strength of al Qaeda and the Islamists in Libya," Robertson said. "He is somebody who is senior within al Qaeda. He was well respected, a good operative."

Al-Shabaab blamed for Kenya mall attack

Photos: Kenya mall attack Photos: Kenya mall attack
Al-Shabaab long has been a target of Washington as well: It was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008. The group is seeking to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, though it has targeted people outside that African country as well.

While the Somali group has been linked to a number of attacks, its most recent one on Nairobi's Westgate Mall -- which left at least 67 people dead -- thrust it into the spotlight once again. Washington vowed to support Kenya's government after the bloody, multi-day raid, which raised concerns that something like it could happen in the United States.

Why exactly U.S. forces went after the group recently in southern Somalia wasn't immediately known.

It's not believed that any SEALs died in that raid.

South-central Somalia is where most of the group's foreign fighters and leaders live and is heavily guarded. The group there has been increasingly squeezed as Kenyan forces fight the group from the south and African Union forces come down from Mogadishu.

In the meantime, it's become even closer to al Qaeda -- with the two groups effectively merging last year, according to CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.

"This is a group that has adopted al Qaeda's ideology wholesale," Bergen said of Al-Shabaab, noting that more and more it's reach extends beyond Somalia. "The reason they attacked the mall was not only because it was Kenyan, but also because it attracted a fair number of Western businessmen and others living in Nairobi."

Analyst: Operations send a 'real signal'

The United States made significant efforts since those nearly simultaneous 1998 bombings to beef up its security at U.S. diplomatic posts. But as the September 11, 2012, attack on a U.S consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya -- which left four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, dead -- showed that, despite the added precautions, they are still very much under threat.

The twin military operations targeting alleged terrorists should raise such concerns even more, not just at U.S. embassies but at other places that Americans and other Westerns congregate.

Still, the fact U.S. forces struck out -- at a time when polls show the U.S. public has been skittish about more involvement in conflicts overseas -- is significant, says retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona.

The operations in Somalia and Libya may not have been coordinated, but they shared the fact they both went after "high-value targets," said Francona, an author and CNN military analyst. That means that others that might be in the U.S. government's crosshairs could have more reason to worry.

"One could have gone without the other, but the fact that they did them both, I think, is a real signal that the United States -- no matter how long it takes -- will go after these targets," Francona said.

CNN's Elise Labott and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report