U.S. Raid Targets Two AQ Fugitives

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January 09, 2007 1:32 PM

Two of America's most wanted al Qaeda terrorists were among the targets of the U.S. air attack Sunday against the Islamist compound in southern Somalia, according to U.S. and Western diplomatic sources.

Fazul Abdullah Mohammad (pictured), also known as Haroon, who was indicted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in East Africa, has been based in Somalia and working with the Islamic Courts Union for years, according to U.S. officials. Haroon, a native of the Comoros Islands, was wounded in the leg during fighting in Mogadishu last month.

The second man, Abu Taha al-Sudani, also wanted in connection with the embassy bombings led Islamist fighters in the recent battles in Somalia, according to the Defense Minister of the Somali Government.

After Ethiopian and Somali troops routed the Islamists and seized Mogadishu, both men fled south towards the Kenyan border with the remnants of the Islamic Courts Union and their allies.

Intelligence obtained by the Somali government and Ethiopian troops about the men's movements was turned over to U.S. officials. According to one law enforcement source, the FBI sent a team to Kenya last week in the event that the fugitives had made an attempt to cross the border.