'Western Special Forces' Raid al-Shabaab Stronghold in Somalia

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Western special forces raided a town in southern Somalia controlled by al-Shabaab on Saturday, carrying out a strike aimed at senior commanders of the radical Islamist movement behind last month’s Kenya shopping centre massacre.

The assault took place shortly before dawn on the coastal town of Barawe, 110 miles south of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of al-Shabaab, is known to have stayed in Barawe in the past. The fishing town is in the heart of an area controlled by the al-Qaeda affiliate.

Al-Shabaab claimed that British and Turkish special forces carried out the raid and that one SAS officer was killed. However, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said that "no UK forces at all" were involved. Turkey's government made a similar denial.

France, which has carried out raids in Somalia in the past, also said that none of its soldiers was deployed.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman George Little said: "I decline comment." » | David Blair | Saturday, October 05, 2013