5th Fleet Moves off Somalia

The U.S. 5th Fleet moved the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower into the waters off Somalia in an effort to capture al Qaeda terrorists attempting to flee the country. High Resolution Image

United Nations-recognized Somali government officials said the strikes were aimed at al Qaeda terrorists who planned the attacks against the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

The Ethiopian military entered Somalia Dec. 24 with the mission of neutralizing the Council of Islamic Courts, a Muslim extremist group that took power in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The Ethiopian forces took the capital in 10 days and terrorists and their sympathizers allegedly moved south toward the border with Kenya to escape.

More U.S. ships are moving in to the waters off Somalia to reinforce the maritime interdiction effort there. "Due to rapidly developing events in Somalia, U.S. Central Command has tasked USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to join USS Bunker Hill, USS Ramage, USS Anzio and USS Ashland (Prisoners are reportedly being held aboard the Ashland) to support ongoing maritime security operations off the coast of Somalia," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

The ships will stop vessels and search them for al Qaeda terrorists attempting to escape from Somalia.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, American Forces Press Service, By Jim Garamone

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