Doubt persists on al-Qaeda casualties in Somalia strike (Financial Times)

[Eugene]

Doubt persists on al-Qaeda casualties in Somalia strike

By William Wallis in Addis Ababa

Published: February 5 2007 02:00 | Last updated: February 5 2007 02:00

Ethiopia is working closely with the US to identify Islamist combatants killed
in neighbouring Somalia, but there has been no confirmation yet of the death of
targeted al-Qaeda suspects, according to Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's prime minister.

Mr Meles said the US had been assisting with DNA testing on suspects killed in
recent fighting, including a US air strike on Somalia last month.

Bloodied papers had been found belonging to Aden Hashi Ayro, the leader of the
militant Somali al-Shabaab militia who Washington believes protected leaders of
an east African al-Qaeda cell that bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
in 1998. But reported sightings suggested he may have survived, Mr Meles said.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and Hassan Turki, two hardline leaders of the Islamic
Courts Union, whose expanding rule over southern Somalia prompted Ethiopia's
invasion in December, were "alive and moving in and out of Kenya on the border",
Mr Meles said. "We do not have definite information on a number of the key al-
Qaeda targets. There are reports that one or two of them might have died but we
have no confirmation."

-snip-

Full article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4680149e-b4bd-11db-b707-0000779e2340.html

[pinniped]

1. No $hit. The new boogeyman of Somalia wasn't picked yet.

They're still drawing names out of a hat.