US warship shells Qaeda targets in Somalia

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/June/theworld_June52.xml§ion=theworld

MOGADISHU - A US warship shelled suspected Al Qaeda targets in northeastern Somalia after Islamist fighters clashed with troops from the country’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland, witnesses and officials said Saturday.

They said a US Navy destroyer fired on several targets overnight where Islamist militants are believed to have bases in mountainous and remote areas outside the coastal town of Bargal.

‘The US military was targeting the Al Qaeda hideout. This was aimed at flushing out all the terrorists,’ said Mussa Jelle Yusuf, the governor for Barri region. snip

Earlier this year, a US aerial gunship bombed positions in southern Somalia after Ethiopia-backed Somali government forces ousted a powerful Islamist movement from the country’s southern and central regions. Local elders said more than 100 civilians were killed.

[whistle]

1. This comes on the heels of Bush's economic sanctions against

...Sudan earlier this week. A strategy plan is beginning to emerge. U.S. incursion into the region to create chaos and weaken the structure of the Sudanese government, get their hands on huge oil reserves and other mineral resources.

[Clovis Sangrail]

2. this was just in case

there was anybody there who still liked us

can't have that

[Catch22Dem]

3. Seriously, is "Islamist" a fucking word?

Or did they just make it up?

[dave_p]

4. Yes, it is

It's the word for advocacy of law & government founded on Islam. The widely-misused "Islamic" means culturally influenced by Islam, or the form of law or government founded on Islam. Islamist/Islamism's a very useful label, and it doesn't mean jihadist, which is just a wacko offshoot.

[Catch22Dem]

5. Well thank you very much!

I actually feel like I learned something useful! :D