Baraawe raid

Baraawe raid
Part of Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa
Type	Aerial attack
Location	Baraawe, Somalia
Target	Islamic militants
Date	September 14, 2009 (2009-09-14)
Executed by	United States
Casualties	4 killed 2 injured

The Barawee raid, code named Operation Celestial Balance, was a helicopter assault by United States Special Operations Forces against the al-Qaeda linked terrorist Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and associated al Shahaab militants near the town of Baraawe in southern Somalia.

Background

Nabhan had been wanted by the United States since 2006 in connection to several terrorist attacks in the Horn of Africa in previous years.^[1] The US Military had been actively targeting Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan since the Battle of Ras Kamboni in 2007 when they targeted several al-Qaeda linked militants with AC-130 airstrikes.^[2][3]

Raid

To avoid collateral damage the United States chose to use a special operations team to target Nabhan rather than launching a missile attack as they did in the Dobley airstrike.^[4]. He was seen traveling in a two-car convoy from the southern coastal town of Barawe, which is controlled by al-Shabab. This was seen to be the best opportunity to target him as he would be away from civilian population. US Army Special Forces launched from a U.S. naval vessel offshore in AH-6 Little Bird Helicopters. Once the helicopters had reached the target location in which the convoy had stopped for breakfast, the helicopters or the occupants opened fire on the convoy killing Nabhan and three other militants.^[5]

At least one helicopter landed briefly dropping off a small US Navy SEAL Team, to recover Nabhan's body and bring two other wounded militants back to their ship.^[6]

See also

• Targeted killing
• Extrajudicial execution

References

1. ^ Seeking Information: Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, FBI, US Justice Department
2. ^ Mohamed, Guled (9 January 2007). "Many people were killed in Somalia in a U.S. air strike targeting al Qaeda suspects among fleeing Islamist fighters, Somali officials said on Tuesday.". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL0869088720070109. Retrieved 19 January 2011. 
3. ^ "Somali raids miss terror suspects". BBC News. 11 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6251077.stm. Retrieved 19 January 2011. 
4. ^ "US forces kill militant leader in Somalia". The Boston Globe. 15 September 2009. http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2009/09/15/us_forces_kill_militant_leader_in_somalia/. Retrieved 19 January 2011. 
5. ^ "Raid killed top Somali Qaeda member". Al Arabiya. 15 September 2009. http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/09/15/85015.html. Retrieved 19 January 2011. 
6. ^ "Al Qaeda Death a Blow to Terror Group". CBS News. 16 September 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/16/world/main5314892.shtml. Retrieved 19 January 2011. 

Notes