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US may be looking to Somalis for help in Bin Laden hunt
Nine people thought to be Americans have visited a town in western Somalia to meet with local faction leaders and Ethiopian military officers, a regional security official said Tuesday.
Nine people thought to be Americans have visited a town in western Somalia to meet with local faction leaders and Ethiopian military officers, a regional security official said Tuesday.
There have been persistent reports recently that Somalia, an impoverished Horn
of Africa nation, is one of the countries President George W. Bush and his
advisers are looking at as they consider expanding the war against terrorism
beyond Afghanistan.
At a Pentagon news conference , Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz said the administration was trying to "observe, surrvey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for members of the al-Qaida terrorist network who may attempt to flee Afghanistan.
At a Pentagon news conference , Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz said the administration was trying to "observe, surrvey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for members of the al-Qaida terrorist network who may attempt to flee Afghanistan.
"And, I mean, people mention Somalia for obvious reasons. It's a country
virtually without a government; a country that has a certain al-Qaida presence
already," he said.
The nine foreigners arrived Sunday and reportedly met with leaders of the
Rahanwein Resistance Army, a clan-based faction opposed to Somalia's fledgling
transitional government and with Mohamed Saeed Hirsi, known as General Morgan,
the leader of an Ethiopian-backed faction based around the southern port of
Kismayo that is also opposed the government.
Bureau Report