Battle of Ras Kamboni (2007)

U.S. security concerns in the Horn of Africa, particularly at Ras Kamboni, heightened after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. On December 16, 2001, Paul Wolfowitz said the U.S. was meeting with various Somali and Ethiopian contacts to "observe, survey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for Al Qaeda operatives. On March 2, 2002 a briefing was held in the Pentagon discussing the possible use of Ras Kamboni by terrorist groups, including al-Ittihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and Al Qaeda. In December 2002, the U.S. established the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) to monitor developments in the region and to train local militaries in counterterrorism. When Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in December 2006, a small number of U.S. special forces accompanied them to give military advice and to track suspected al-Qaida fighters. On December 28, 2006, withdrawal of the ICU to Ras Kamboni was reported as a possibility after the Fall of Mogadishu to Somali TFG and Ethiopian forces. After their loss at the Battle of Jilib and the Fall of Kismayo on January 1, 2007, ICU fighters split into different groups, with some heading northwest towards Dhobley () and Afmadow, U.S. Marines operating from Lamu, Kenya, were said to be assisting Kenyan forces patrolling the border with Somalia to intercept Islamists. Unknown gunmen thought to be Somali Islamists fired shots at a Kenyan security helicopter patrolling near the border with Somalia. The helicopter was flying over the southeastern Kenyan border town of Hulugho. The report did not indicate whether the aircraft sustained damage but noted that gunmen discharged small arms from the vicinity of Ras Kamboni, the operational base of the retreating Islamist forces. The United States Fifth Fleet's Carrier Strike Group 8, along with the British-led multinational maritime task force, Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), based out of Bahrain are patrolling off the Somali coast to prevent terrorists from launching an "attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material", said Commander Kevin Aandahl. The U.S. ships deployed to the area include the USS Ramage guided missile destroyer, the USS Bunker Hill and USS Anzio guided missile cruisers, the USS Ashland amphibious landing ship and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. ==Battle==

January 5 On January 5, 2007, TFG Defense Minister Colonel Barre Aden Shirre Hiiraale announced: "Today we will launch a massive assault on the Islamic courts militias. We will use infantry troops and fighter jets... They have dug huge trenches around Ras Kamboni but have only two options: to drown in the sea or to fight and die." January 8 On January 8, 2007, Col. Hiraale announced TFG and Ethiopian forces were close to entering Ras Kamboni after two days of fierce battles. Premature reports came of the fall of Ras Kamboni. One was from TFG member Abdirashid Hidig. To the north of Ras Kamboni, elsewhere in Badhadhe province, an Ethiopian force intercepted Islamist forces in the area of the Kenyan border town of Amuma, Garissa district. Seven vehicles were destroyed. A platoon of Kenyan border police were in the area to enforce the border closure. In Afmadow province, Ethiopia launched airstrikes against targets near Afmadow and Dhobley. The aircraft flew out of its base in Djibouti. The U.S. reported 8 - 10 deaths, mostly Somalis, but the identity of the dead or wounded was not yet established. Reports said DNA testing was being done to establish identities but U.S. sources denied that the top al-Qaida targets were among those killed. It was also reported the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower had been moved into striking distance. January 9 On January 9, a second AC-130 strike was reported at Hayo (also Xayo or Hayi, approx. Lat 0º28' N, Long 41º49' E) on the road between the provincial capital of Afmadow and Dhobley (Doble) near the Kenyan border. Later more reports stated that more than 50, mostly Islamist leaders, have died in U.S. air strikes. A strike by two unidentified attack helicopters was also reported hitting near Afmadow (). Somali Defense Ministry personnel stated this was a third U.S. attack, but eyewitness accounts could not establish the nationality of the helicopters. Unconfirmed reports claimed the attacks killed 31 civilians. It was later asserted by a U.S. military official the helicopters may have been Ethiopian Mi-24 Hinds. This would not have been the first case of off-target airstrikes for the Ethiopian attack helicopters. On January 3, they had attacked Harehare village, across the Kenyan border, mistaking it for Islamist positions at the town of Dhobley. Also on this day, a pair of reports arose which were covered widely in the media, but later contradicted by U.S. sources. The first was a report by Somali presidential chief of staff, Abdirizak Hassan, who stated the U.S. airstrikes had killed Al Qaeda member Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, and leaders of the Islamic Courts Union including Abduallahi Moalim Ali (former chief of security for Mogadishu), Abdirahman Janaqow, and a third unidentified person. The bodies had reportedly been recovered by Ethiopian military personnel. January 11 On January 11, the American ambassador to Kenya said that the U.S. claimed Al-Qaeda suspect Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was actually still alive and that none of the Al-Qaeda members were killed in the air attack but some members of the ICU were killed. A small team of U.S. forces investigated the site of the U.S. gunship attack to search for information about the identity and fate of the targeted individuals. ==See also==