US and its allied military forces are stepping up aerial-reconnaissance flights over Somalia in preparation for raids against al Qaeda terrorist bases in the African nation, the Washington Times (WT) reported on Thursday.
US intelligence officials disclosed that some 100 al Qaeda terrorists were identified recently in Somalia. They were spotted as part of the Islamic rebel group there known as Al-Ittihad Al- Islam, said the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Mogadishu-based group, known as AIAI, is linked to Somali warlord Hussein Mohammed Aideed and has close ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group in Afghanistan.
"Somalia will likely be next," said one U.S. defense official familiar with defense planning.
The reconnaissance flights over Somalia include aerial surveillance by US EP-3, British Nimrod and French Atlantique aircraft, the officials said. The number of flights increased sharply last week, they said.
The aircraft are helping identify targets for future bombing raids, such as terrorist training camps in the southern and northern parts of Somalia and port facilities, the official said.
US intelligence reports over the last several months have stated that weapons from terrorists in Afghanistan have been transported to Somalia on the Horn of Africa.
(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2002)
