Washington (CNN) -- Under the cloak of darkness, a team of U.S. commandos zoomed in by speedboat and sneaked up on their mark: a seaside villa in southern Somalia.
It was before dawn Saturday morning (late Friday night ET) when the squad stormed the house frequented by top militant commanders of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab -- the al Qaeda subsidiary and U.S.-designated terrorist group behind last month's bloody, prolonged attack on a Kenyan shopping mall.
But the mission didn't go as planned. A fierce firefight broke out, and the Americans had to withdraw, not knowing whether the person they were trying to get was dead or alive.
Local residents said the compound targeted by the American raid was the home of Al-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, also known as Ahmed Abdi Godane. While an Al-Shabaab spokesman has claimed Godane was the target of the attack, the U.S. military has not yet disclosed the target.
Al-Shabaab says one of its fighters was killed in the attack, but his identity has not been revealed.
The raid was led by members of the U.S. Navy special forces unit known as SEAL Team Six -- the same unit that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, an administration official told CNN on Sunday.
U.S. forces strike in Libya, Somalia, capture al Qaeda operative
Witness accounts
Residents of the port city of Barawe said about a dozen "foreign forces" went from a nearby warship to a smaller, faster boat before jumping off on the Somali mainland. Before long, the sounds of heavy gunfire and several large explosions echoed across the city, locals said.
After coming under fire, the SEAL team made a "prudent decision" to pull back, a senior U.S. official said. They couldn't confirm whether they killed their target, the official said. A second administration official said the commandos withdrew to avoid civilian casualties.
No members of the Navy SEAL team were killed or even hurt in the raid, a U.S. official said, but the SEALs inflicted some Al-Shabaab casualties.
The official described the target only as a "high-value Al-Shabaab terrorist leader," while Pentagon spokesman George Little called the man a "known Al-Shabaab terrorist."
Abdiaziz Abu Musab, an Al-Shabaab spokesman, said at least one member of his group died in the gun battle. The opposing forces, he added, left behind a bullet-proof jacket and two ladders.
Barawe "is a main center, if not the center" for Al-Shabaab, said Matt Bryden, the former head of the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea.
"It's a big source of revenue for them. It allows for trade," said Bryden, now the director of a Kenya-based think tank, Sahan Research. They "fully control the town" and hold large exercises on the beach, including target practice and even sack races.
Once a tourist destination, the city is now important as a port for charcoal, a common fuel in Somalia, Bryden said. That makes it a source of hard cash for the jihadists, with the charcoal trade bringing in as much as $25 million a year to Al-Shabaab, the United Nations estimated in July.
The Somalia attack came just hours before U.S. special operations forces in Libya captured Abu Anas al Libi, a key al Qaeda operative wanted for his role in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998.
Al-Shabaab's growing menace
Relatives of Johnny Mutinda Musango, 48, weep after identifying his body at the city morgue in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, September 24. Musango was one of the victims of the Westgate Mall hostage siege. Kenyan security forces were still combing the mall on the fourth day of the siege by al Qaeda-linked terrorists.
Photos: Kenya mall attack
Al-Shabaab, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, has a relationship with al Qaeda that goes back several years. Last year, the two groups effectively merged, said CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen.
Bergen: How Al-Shabaab picks its targets
Al-Shabaab hopes to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, but has launched attacks in other countries as well.
In 2010, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings carried out in Kampala, Uganda, amid crowds of soccer fans watching televised screenings of the World Cup final. The bombings left 74 people dead.
The group said at the time the attacks were retaliation for Ugandan participation in the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM. One AMISOM goal is to support Somali government forces in cracking down on Al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab has also mounted many smaller attacks against targets in Kenya, hurling hand grenades into nightclubs, restaurants and schools. The group has also kidnapped tourists and aid workers.
Its attack on the Westgate mall in Kenya on September 21 killed at least 67 people.
Al-Shabaab said the attack was retaliation for Kenya's involvement in the African Union effort against the group.
'Most wanted terrorist' al Libi nabbed in native Libya
Journalist Omar Nor contributed to this report from Mogadishu, Somalia; CNN's Nima Elbagir contributed from Nairobi, Kenya; and CNN's Emma Lacey-Bordeaux, Melissa Gray and Greg Botelho contributed from Atlanta.
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Ann Gakii reacts at the Nairobi City Mortuary after identifying the body of her father, who was killed in the mall attack on Saturday.
A Kenyan soldier runs through a corridor on an upper floor at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 24, shortly before an explosion was heard. Sounds of heavy gunfire erupted from the mall Tuesday, even as authorities said they had the building under their control. But four days after Al-Shabaab terrorists stormed the swanky mall, several gunmen -- including snipers -- were still inside, two senior officials said.
Kenyan Defense Forces walk near the mall on Monday, September 23.
Kenyan Defense Forces leave the mall on September 23.
Stephen, center, is comforted by relatives as he waits for the post mortem exam of his father, who was killed in Saturday's attack at the mall.
A Kenyan police officer guards the entrance of a building near the mall on September 23.
A Kenyan security officer takes cover as gunfire and explosions are heard from the mall on September 23.
Heavy smoke rises from the Westgate Shopping Mall on September 23.
Medics take cover behind a tree as gunfire and explosions are heard from the Westgate Mall on September 23.
A Kenyan police security officer runs for cover as heavy smoke rises from the mall on September 23.
A paramedic runs for cover outside the mall on September 23.
People run for cover outside the mall after heavy shooting started on September 23.
Kenyan security forces crouch behind a wall outside the mall on September 23.
Soldiers take cover after gunfire near the mall on September 23.
Kenyan paramilitary police officers patrol the area near the mall on Sunday, September 22.
Soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive outside the Westgate Mall on September 22.
A woman shields a baby as a soldier stands guard inside the Westgate Mall on Saturday, September 21.
A rescue worker helps a child outside the mall.
People who had been hiding inside the mall during the gunfire flee the scene.
An armed official takes a shooting position inside the mall.
An armed official crouches on September 21.
Bodies lie on the ground inside the mall.
Men help a wounded woman outside the mall.
Officials carry an injured man in the mall.
Soldiers move up stairs inside the Westgate Mall.
Armed police leave after entering the mall. At least one suspect has been killed, a government official said. Police have said another suspected gunman has been detained at a Nairobi hospital.
Armed police take cover behind escalators as smoke fills the air. Witnesses say tear gas was thrown in the corridors.
A woman who had been hiding during the attack runs for cover after armed police enter the mall.
A body is seen on the floor inside the smoke-filled four-story mall.
An injured person is helped on arrival at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi after the attack at the upscale mall.
A soldier directs people up a stairway inside the Westgate on September 21.
An injured man is wheeled into the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.
People run from the Westgate Mall.
A Kenyan woman is helped to safety after the masked gunmen stormed the upscale mall and sprayed gunfire on shoppers and staff.
Crowds gather outside the upscale shopping mall. The interior ministry urges Kenyans to keep off the roads near the mall so police can ensure everyone inside has been evacuated to safety.
A policeman carries a baby to safety. Authorities said multiple shooters were at the scene.
Bodies lie outside the shopping mall.
A security officer helps a wounded woman outside.
Elaine Dang of San Diego is helped to safety after the attack. The military asked local media not to televise anything live because the gunmen are watching the screens in the mall.
Paramedics treat an injured man outside the mall.
Medical personnel carry a body away.
A body lies outside the mall. Gunmen shot people outside the mall as they entered it
A woman is pulled by a shopping cart to an ambulance.
A wounded man is escorted outside the mall.
A police officer carries a baby as people keep low and run to safety. Crowds dashed down the streets as soldiers in military fatigues, guns cocked, crawled under cars to get closer to the mall.
People run away from the scene.
Armed Kenyan forces take position to secure the area around the shopping mall as ambulances move in to carry the injured.
A woman reacts after she is rescued from the mall.
A couple flee the area. As night fell, authorities said they had cornered the gunmen in the mall.
|