Posted on 10/05/2013 2:31:01 PM PDT by kristinn
A Navy SEAL team targeted a senior leader of the Shabab militant group in a raid on his seaside villa in the Somali town of Baraawe on Saturday, American officials said, in response to a deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall for which the group had claimed responsibility.
The SEAL team stealthily approached the beachfront house by sea, firing on the unidentified target in a predawn gunbattle that was the most significant raid by American troops on Somali soil since commandos killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Qaeda mastermind, near the same town four years ago.
The Shabab leader was believed to have been killed in the firefight, but the SEALS were forced to withdraw before that could be confirmed, a senior American official said. Such operations by American forces are rare because they carry a high risk, and indicate that the target was considered a high priority. Baraawe, a small port town south of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, is known as a gathering place for the Shabab’s foreign fighters.
“The Baraawe raid was planned a week and a half ago,” said an American security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity about a classified operation. “It was prompted by the Westgate attack,” he added, referring to the mall in Nairobi that was overrun by militants two weeks ago, leaving more than 60 dead.
Witnesses in the area described a firefight lasting over an hour, with helicopters called in for air support. A senior Somali government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the raid, saying, “The attack was carried out by the American forces and the Somali government was pre-informed about the attack.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
And I sure don’t blame the SEALS. This operation was probably thrown together in 15 minutes to cover His Arrogance’s sagging poll numbers. Another distraction to cover the myriad of on-going scandals.
Horay for the last bastion of real, honest to goodness men we have. How long until the demands rise for them to completely become more “culturally sensitive” and “culturally aware” and lower their standards so that they can be 50 % women and become more accommodating? Has it already begun in earnest?
Any further after action reports on our raid on Somali ? Hard to find anything
Probably won’t get much as the cover up of the top level incompetence will start. One wonders if there wasn’t a tip off of them coming in.
Post OBL raid/hit Seal 6 unit has suffered numerous casulties. Apparently, this mission lacked intel and resources. No video to blame. Pure cover-up in process.
They knew.
"Seaside villa," sounds like a perfect set-up for naval fire support. Yet, they were "forced to withdraw." Who forced them?
The NYT hasn't gotten a military story correct since 1898.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.