A Navy SEALs Somalia raid and a U.S. operation in Libya over the weekend is a signal that the White House will continue to fight for victims of terrorism perpetrated by Al-Qaeda forces, and perhaps with less reliance on drone strikes, the Christian Science Monitor reported on Oct. 6.
In the Navy SEALs Somalia raid, U.S. forces targeted the house of an Al Shabaab militant who is thought to be connected to the September shopping mall massacre in Kenya. In the other high-value target in Africa, U.S. commandos in Libya seized Anu Abas al-Liby, who has been linked to the bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
It seems likely, though, that the Navy SEALs Somalia raid was not a success.
Local residents near the Somalia raid said that the compound targeted by the Navy SEALs was the home of Al-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, also known as Ahmed Abdi Godane, CNN reported.
Members of the Navy's SEAL Team Six led the Somalia raid, CNN said. This is the same SEALs unit that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2010. In the Somalia raid, Navy SEALs came under fire and withdrew before they could confirm whether they killed their target, a senior U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said that the Navy SEALs withdrew to prevent civilian casualties.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Navy SEALs Somalia raid and the strike in Libya suggest that the Obama administration is following through on statements last spring that it is backing off reliance on drone attacks, which had been the main tool in fighting terrorism attacks.
