SEALs Capture (or kill) Leader of Militant Group Tied to Nairobi Mall Attack, also take down Qaeda

[arely staircase]

Last edited Sat Oct 5, 2013, 10:22 PM - Edit history (3)

leader in Libya

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy SEAL team seized a senior leader of the al Shabaab militant group from a seaside villa in Somalia on Saturday in response to a deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall last month, the New York Times quoted U.S. officials as saying.

The SEAL team seized the unidentified target in a predawn firefight after approaching the beachfront house in the Somali town of Barawe by sea, the paper reported on its website

"The Barawe raid was planned a week and a half ago," the newspaper quoted an unnamed U.S. security official as saying. "It was prompted by the Westgate attack," he added, referring to a militant assault on a Nairobi shopping mall two weeks ago in which at least 67 people were killed.

http://news.yahoo.com/u-commandos-seize-al-shabaab-leader-nairobi-attack-211536128.html

edited to add:

A short time later, sources said that U.S. forces also had captured Anas al Libi, a longtime al Qaeda member, near Tripoli, Libya. Al Libi, whose real name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'I, has been wanted for more than a decade by the U.S. and has a $5 million reward on his head."

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/05/20833640-two-raids-in-two-countries-net-two-of-the-worlds-most-wanted-terrorists?lite

[BluegrassStateBlues]

1. Good work!

Seal Team 6 (I'm assuming) has righted a lot of wrongs in this world.

[arely staircase]

3. Welcome to DU

Story doesn't say what specific SEAL Team took part. I suppose any one of them had the capability.

[BluegrassStateBlues]

6. Thank you! They got al Libi in Libya, also... just now breaking!

"In twin raids in Africa on Saturday, U.S. commandos captured two of the world’s most-wanted terrorists – a senior al Qaeda official who allegedly planned 1998 embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania and a “high-level target” from Somalia’s al Shabaab, sources tell NBC News.

Word of the dual operations came in quick succession, with the sources first saying that U.S. Navy SEALs captured the unidentified “high-value target” during a pre-dawn raid on an al Shabaab stronghold in southern Somalia, striking back at the Islamic militant group blamed for the recent attack on a Kenyan shopping mall.

A short time later, sources said that U.S. forces also had captured Anas al Libi, a longtime al Qaeda member, near Tripoli, Libya. Al Libi, whose real name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'I, has been wanted for more than a decade by the U.S. and has a $5 million reward on his head."

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/05/20833640-two-raids-in-two-countries-net-two-of-the-worlds-most-wanted-terrorists?lite

[arely staircase]

18. holy shit

bad day for bad guys.

[AlinPA]

23. This also makes it a bad day for the Republicans.

[arely staircase]

19. also, I'm going to edit my OP to include this

thanks

[Rebellious Republican]

28. Love my president and my navy!

This video will probably start half way through, just back it up to the start at the bottom.

It was the United States Navy, not just the seals, not to detract from their own personal risks. You can bet a lot of squids were involved in this operation.

Non sibi sed patriae is a Latin phrase meaning "Not for self, but for country". The phrase is inscribed over the chapel doors at the United States Naval Academy and some war memorials.

[Thinkingabout]

2. I wonder how he was located, probably through intelligence gathering, guess it pays to use whatever

Method available to accomplished result.

[arely staircase]

7. Well, we will probably hear a lot of shit that isn't true

then eventually get the real story as news orgs fight to beat the others without double-checking things first. The op was done with the knowledge of the Somali. I am guessing they probably have some good HUMINT on these guys, even if not the ability to pull off an operation like this.

Edited to say Somali Gov. Although it is due to the Kenyan terrorist attack, the guy was killed or captured in Somalia.

[Ian David]

12. Well, I'm sure it wasn't "Curveball." n/t

[Rebellious Republican]

29. You can bank on that my friend!

Been there done that.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

4. Obama kicking ass & taking names both at home and abroad.

[arely staircase]

32. indeed nt

[Uncle Joe]

5. That story has changed since it first came out, either they killed him or they didn't

There is dispute as to whether he was killed or not, but apparently he wasn't captured.

Thanks for the thread, arely staircase.

[arely staircase]

8. like I just said in post 7

first a bunch of reporting on unsubstantiated tales then the truth emerges. but it does look like we got this guy, be he dead or alive.

[Ian David]

13. He could be both. We won't know until we open the box. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

16. Very witty.

[flamingdem]

9. Obama has had a busy week

I assume he gave the go ahead, of course he did.

[flamingdem]

10. More detail in NYT article, unconfirmed that he was killed

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/world/africa/mall-attack-also-involved-kenyans-official-says.html?_r=0

[arely staircase]

17. Thanks for posting. That article probably answers your question about The President's part.

"Such operations by American forces are rare because they carry a high risk, and indicate that the target was considered a high priority."

[arely staircase]

15. I doubt such a thing could happen w/o the President's direct orders.

I also assume the Navy SEALS weren't furloughed, much to the discomfort of the shopping mall killers.

[Ian David]

11. If you don't want U.S. Navy SEALS to capture you, do not stay in a "seaside" ANYTHING. n/t

[arely staircase]

14. lol

no shit

[malaise]

20. Shit

Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of Black Hawk Down

[arely staircase]

21. wow

I am old

[malaise]

22. I am ancient

[malaise]

24. Here's my worry

Earlier today there were rumors that a British Commando was killed in Somalia and the Brits publicly stated that they were not involved in any operations overseas.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/05/somalia-kenya-al-shabaab-westgate-mall
<snip>
The paper also reported that a senior Somali government official said: "The attack was carried out by the American forces and the Somali government was pre-informed about the attack."

A later report from the Associated Press said, however, that the Seal team raided the town but did not find their target.

Claims by an al-Shabaab spokesman that the raid involved UK and Turkish special forces and that a British commando had been killed were denied by a UK official.

Other reports spoke of two boats landing on a nearby beach and the soldiers using silenced weapons. Nato, the French military and the EU's anti-piracy force denied launching the raid. Somali officials, speaking anonymously, said that the target of the raid was a high-profile foreign leader in al-Shabaab, with one source identifying him as a Chechen.

The raid came as Kenya's military confirmed the names of four al-Shabaab fighters implicated in the Westgate mall attack. Major Emmanuel Chirchir said the men were Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr – names that were first broadcast by a local Kenyan television station. "I confirm those are the names of the terrorist," he said in a tweet to the Associated Press.

Publication of the identities supports CCTV footage from the Nairobi mall published by a private TV station that shows no more than four attackers, contradicting earlier government statements that 10-15 attackers were involved.

They are seen calmly walking through a storeroom inside the complex, holding machine guns. One of the men's legs appears to be stained with blood, although he is not limping, and it is unclear if the blood is his.

Reporting the attack in Barawe, Radio Shabelle, in Mogadishu, reported that one al-Shabaab fighter had been killed and others were injured. Somali security officials gave partly conflicting accounts.

"We understand that French troops injured Abu Diyad, also known as Abu Ciyad, an al-Shabaab leader from Chechnya. They killed his main guard, who was also a foreigner. The main target was the al-Shabaab leader from Chechnya," an intelligence officer based in Mogadishu, who gave his name as Mohamed, told Reuters.

Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, a spokesman for al-Shabaab's military operations, told Reuters: "Westerners in boats attacked our base at Barawe beach and one was martyred from our side. No planes or helicopters took part in the fight. The attackers left weapons, medicine and stains of blood. We chased them."

There was immediate speculation that the target was the leader of al-Shabaab, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, also known as Ahmed Godane, who claimed responsibility for the four-day assault. Godane said the Nairobi attack was in retaliation for Kenya's military deployment inside Somalia.

US forces also carried out a raid in Libya on Saturday to seize Anas al-Liby, a senior al-Qaida figure, reports said. Liby is wanted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
----------------------------------

[arely staircase]

25. like i said up thread

the initial stories will be full of inaccuracies.

[malaise]

26. Well the good news is that these claims were wrong re nationalities

Claims by an al-Shabaab spokesman that the raid involved UK and Turkish special forces and that a British commando had been killed were denied by a UK official.

and the US government had the permission of the Somali government.

[silverweb]

27. Suck an egg, reTHUGs!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]President Obama proves again that he can stay focused and multitask better than you jerks can obsess or whine any day of the week!

[arely staircase]

30. What I really like about this

other than the fact that some seriously fucked up killers are no longer at large is the fact this president seems to understand that the AQ threat is a loosely affiliated group of assholes who do horrible things like 9/11 or the Nairobe mall killings and not an excuse to invade entire nation states and "roll them all up, involved or not" as Dick Cheney declared.

I think the drone program is part of that shift in strategy as well, but not as smart of one as these targeted capture/kill missions against terrorist assholes. I would guess many of the drone strikes were successful in taking out real bad guys, but were probably overused. Either way they were still preferable to the Cheney doctrine of outright imperialism leading to quagmire,

[silverweb]

31. Exactly.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Our no-drama President quietly works with the right, select professionals who identify the enemy, target them, isolate them, and take them out. Bam. Done.

Any "collateral damage," bad as it might be, is minimal compared to the Bush-Cheney way.

[leveymg]

33. This is misreported. US assault in Somalia was driven off when the locals started firing.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/africa/article3887860.ece
Sonia Elks
Last updated at 10:32AM, October 6 2013

American troops launched a raid on a senior al-Shabaab militant yesterday as officials announced that they had captured a most-wanted al-Qaeda leader.

Officials said that a pre-dawn strike on a holiday villa in Somalia aimed at a senior al-Shabaab figure linked to the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi had failed

and

Wall Street Journal ?- by Julian Barnes ?- 23 minutes ago
The raid in Somalia Friday failed to capture the senior militant and it isn't clear if he was killed

,

[arely staircase]

34. it is unclear if they got the guy in Somolia but they did get the guy who planned

the 98 embassy bombings. So, good day.

[leveymg]

35. I'll take it.

Troubling, nonetheless, that al-Libi could live more or less openly for two years in capital of "free" Libya, which has become nothing but the Wild West for al-Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups.

[arely staircase]

36. I'm actually surprised a guy like that can stay on the lam for

15 years.

[leveymg]

37. I guess, so long as we keep creating new protected AQ sanctuaries with regime changes.

Syria's the safest place in the world for al-Qaeda, right now. This guy got tired of Jihad, I guess.

What should that tell us about our policy in Syria?

[arely staircase]

38. i don't think syria is a safe place for anyone from the looks of it nt

[leveymg]

39. Right after Ambassador Stevens was killed, CIA announced it would use armed drones in Libya,

acknowledging that it had not been doing so to strike AQ figures known to be inside Libya or against AQ-linked groups operating there. The reason given was that it had been believed that might upset the Libyan "gov't" and offend the sensitivities of segments of the populace there.

[arely staircase]

40. wait, what?

a thought you said Syria.

[leveymg]

41. The point there is that Libya was effectively a safe haven for AQ after the regime change. Syria is

now treated the same way as far as there have been no reported CIA drone strikes and/or renditions going on there.

If you're AQ, and you make it into Syria, you effectively get a Get Out Jail Free Card. That's the way it was in Libya before 09/11/12, too.

[arely staircase]

42. Libya doesn't seem to have been very safe for the guy the SEALs just picked up

and if you make it to Syria, you are in Syria, which is probably about as good a place to get yourself killed as any.

Are you suggesting drone strikes in Libya?

[leveymg]

43. There was an announced change of policy after the Ambassador was killed.

I'm suggesting that if AQ is fighting a third party we want removed from power, CIA seems perfectly willing to tolerate them running around blowing shit up.

We were using armed drones in Libya against Ghadaffi's forces. Then we stopped, and despite an announcement, may not have started up again:

U.S. Launches Drone Strikes in Libya - WSJ.com
online.wsj.com/.../SB100014240527487048894045762774132...?
by Julian Barnes - in 650 Google+ circles
Apr 22, 2011 - The U.S. said it is starting to use armed drones to carry out missile strikes against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's ground troops in Libya, despite the ...

The Drones Are Coming to Libya - Slate
www.slate.com/.../drones_attacks_in_libya_an_unprecedented_expansio...?
Oct 17, 2012 - After the attack on American diplomats in Benghazi last month, President Obama vowed to hunt down the killers and bring them to justice.

US seeks Libyan permission for drone attacks ... - Asharq Al Awsat
www.aawsat.net/2013/08/article55313229?
Aug 11, 2013 - The source added that a bilateral agreement that would allow the US to perform drone strikes in the eastern Libya would not be an easy one, ...

[leveymg]

44. LA Times just ran a story that touched on the drones in Libya issue:

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-us-libya-somalia-counter-terrorism-20131006,0,3598589.story

By Ken Dilanian and David Cloud

October 6, 2013, 10:58 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's decision to mount two risky capture raids against Al Qaeda operatives in North Africa reflects a reduced role for lethal CIA drone strikes and a growing role for the Pentagon in leading counter-terrorism operations, U.S. officials said Sunday.

In storming the coastal Somalia home of a leader of Shabab, the Somali-based group that claimed responsibility for last month's massacre inside a shopping mall in Nairobi, the Obama administration opted to put U.S. Navy SEALs at risk against a fixed target that could have been destroyed with bombs or missiles from the air.

The suspect sought in the raid was not captured, though he may have been killed in a firefight that ultimately forced the U.S. force to withdraw, officials said. Unconfirmed reports Sunday indicated the U.S. operation was aimed at Shabab's charismatic leader, Ahmed Godane, who recently carried out an internal purge of the organization.

In Libya, where a joint operation by U.S. military and intelligence agencies captured a suspect indicted for his alleged role in Al Qaeda's 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, drone strikes were not an option. The suspect was grabbed off a street in Tripoli, the capital city, and the United States has no nearby base from which to launch an armed drone, officials said.

Here's my response at The LAT (which, surprisingly, hasn't been removed):

leveymg at 11:42 AM October 06, 2013

Interesting that the Administration claimed that the reason they didn't use a drone is "no nearby base from which to launch an armed drone, officials said." May I suggest that is simply not being forthcoming, as we used drones against Ghadaffi's forces, and the Mediterranean Sea is nearby and the US has launched drones from ships.

Perhaps, the reason has more to do with the fact that it's not current US policy to use drones in Libya and Syria. Why not?
Libya was effectively a safehaven for AQ before 09/11/12, as is Syria now. Both are treated the same way as far as there have been no reported CIA drone strikes and/or renditions in either country while AQ was engaged in regime change operations against regimes we want to overthrow or attrition. If al-Libi had simply moved to Syria, he would have kept his Get Out of Jail Free Card.

[arely staircase]

45. the article seems to indicate a shift in policy away from drones, when practical

at least that seems to have been the case in Somalia. But in Libya it would seem drones aren't even close enough to be used. I assume they were launched from ships against Ghadaffi. I don't know. And yes, had al-Libi gone to Syria he wouldn't have been captured because there is a major civil war going on there, not because the US would see him as an ally. It just wouldn't have been practical - though, yes, both the US and al-Qaeda oppose Assad.

[leveymg]

46. Ok. We agree there was a change of policy re: drones in Libya, but we infer different motives.

Even if you don't agree, you do see my point that we appear to have provided a drone-free zone where AQ is operating or reconstituting against US regime change targets?

[arely staircase]

47. yes

I agree with all of that. And yes we disagree on why al libi would be safe (from the US) in syria.. Now I had prefer we get AQ operatives the way we did al libi than with drones. There will be violations of sovereignty either way and more of a risk to US personell but less chance of inocents getting hurt or killed.

[leveymg]

48. I agree, capture is generally a better approach, even though it may not always be without costs.

Wish there was a "clean" way to deal with this sort of thing.