Officials: US drone strike killed Somali insurgent

[ellisonz]

By KATHARINE HOURELD | Associated Press – 2 hrs 49 mins ago

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somali insurgents say that a U.S. drone strike killed an al-Qaida official fighting alongside them in Somalia.

A statement from the insurgent al-Kataib media foundation late Saturday says that three missiles fired from an unmanned aerial vehicle hit Bilal al-Berjawi's car on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Berjawi was a Lebanese and British citizen who grew up in West London.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-us-drone-strike-killed-somali-insurgent-062451811.html

[ellisonz]

1. Mogadishu government vows to eradicate Shebab militia

AFP – 3 hrs ago

Somali transitional government forces on Saturday vowed to rid Mogadishu of all "violent elements," a day after a major offensive aimed at dislodging Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militia from the capital.

Oficials in Galmudug, a semi-autonomous province of central Somalia, meanwhile, said dozens of security forces were on the trail of a foreigner who was kidnapped there.

And the Islamist Shebab militia in Somalia said a British fighter was killed Saturday during a drone attack in the capital Mogadishu.

"There are still a few pockets of resistance of the defeated terrorists. They launched at least six desperate counter-attacks last night, but the TFG (government forces) and AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) troops have repelled them," a government military official said as the Shebab vowed to fight on.

http://news.yahoo.com/somali-au-troops-attack-mogadishu-rebel-positions-161210574.html

[ellisonz]

2. Police: Gunmen kidnap American in north Somalia

By ABDI GULED | Associated Press – 6 hrs ago

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Gunmen kidnapped an American man in the northern Somali town of Galkayo on Saturday, officials said, the same day an airstrike killed a senior insurgent leader with ties to al-Qaida in another part of the country.

The gunmen surrounded the man's car shortly after the man left the airport, said policeman Abdi Hassan Nur, who witnessed the incident. He said they then forced the American into another vehicle.

Galkayo is on the border between the semiautonomous northern region of Puntland and a region known as Galmudug. It is ruled by forces friendly to the U.N.-backed Somali government.

A minister from the Galmudug administration said the gunmen severely beat the foreigner's Somali companion when he begged them not to take the man. The minister spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

http://news.yahoo.com/police-gunmen-kidnap-american-north-somalia-140903654.html

[Tx4obama]

3. Well....

I know that lots of folks have been griping (bitching) about Obama/TheUSA using drones to target al-Qaida BUT I am glad that we are trying to take out all the bad guys.

p.s. I can understand why President Obama's hair has turned white.

[bread_and_roses]

4. So asssassination is OK as long as it's "the bad guys"

So human rights are only for "the good guys." How very interesting.

[ellisonz]

5. Somalia is a disaster either way....

It's a war-zone because of Al-Shebab.

[cstanleytech]

12. Then what do you advise?

I mean I have heard the arrest them and charge them bit and in a perfect world sure that is a good idea but we dont live in that perfect world so what else do you have to offer as an idea to solve the problem? Pull out of the middle east and close our borders and hope they dont do anything to us? Something similar was tried before and it led to the death of millions because the fact is we are a part of this world and its not practical to stick our heads in a hole and pretend what happens outside our borders doest effect us.

[The Northerner]

6. So, it's acceptable to disregard sovereignty & due process abroad?

If that's the case then can Mexico send drones into the US to kill suspected drug dealers and human traffickers?

[killbotfactory]

10. If those drug dealers/traffickers were engaged in war against the Mexican state

And the US couldn't, or wouldn't, take action against them, then yes. Mexico would be within it's rights to target them with drone strikes.

[cpwm17]

11. Well, then: the US is a target rich environment.

Last edited Tue Jan 24, 2012, 10:59 PM - Edit history (1)

The US is full of war criminals, including many of the world's top war criminals. I'm sure many in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Chile, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, etc would like to eliminate many US war criminals that the US refuses to take action against.

Al-Shabab came to power because President Bush hired Ethiopia to overthrow Somalia's government: the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU committed the crime of governing while Muslim. Hardline Islamists then broke ranks from the ICU and formed Al-Shabab to fight off the foreign invaders. The ICU had earlier fought off the war-lords that had cause so much havoc in Somalia, and the quality of life then became much better than it had been for years. After the Bush/ Ethiopian invasion Somalia became a humanitarian disaster.

Al-Shabab aren't my type of fellows, but they do have a right to fight off foreigners that are ruining their country. If we didn't interfere with their government in the first place, Somalia would be far better off. But our morally retarded politicians can always manufacture some excuse to bomb or invade any country they'd like, and many Americans are far too happy to fall for their excuses.

Edit: I wouldn't want anyone harming any American or anyone else through violence. That should be obvious with the context of this post.

[ellisonz]

7. Truck bomb explodes at Ethiopian base in Somalia

Associated Press – 1 hr 23 mins ago

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Witnesses say that a truck bomb has detonated at an Ethiopian military base inside Somalia.

Shopkeeper Abdullahi Ali said Tuesday that he saw a truck with the back covered in black cloth or tarpaulin speeding toward the base in the town of Beledweyne and then heard a large explosion.

Resident Ali Hussein says he can see smoke rising from the base but that Ethiopian troops have cordoned off the area and the extent of casualties are unclear.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/truck-bomb-explodes-ethiopian-somalia-081334730.html

[gratuitous]

8. Judge, jury and executioner, all with the push of a button

How . . . efficient.

[ellisonz]

9. Kinda like a...

...DU Jury or so I've been told.