UK denies involvement in al-Shabab raid
Iran Press TV
Sun Oct 6, 2013 2:3PM GMT
Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has denied the involvement of British special forces in a strike on a coastal town in southern Somalia against al-Shabab.
A MoD spokesperson said 'there is no British involvement' in the pre-dawn raid on the al-Shabab stronghold in the Somali town of Baraawe on Saturday.
The militant group blamed the attack on foreign forces including those from Britain.
According to a statement by Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's military operation spokesperson, the commander of the British force was killed and four other Special Air Service (SAS) operatives were wounded during the attack.
A team of US Navy SEALs reportedly carried out the strike on a senior al-Shabab commander's seaside villa.
The assault came two weeks after al-Shabab militants claimed the responsibility of an attack in a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, which left at least 67 people dead.
The government in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab for the past six years and is propped up by a 17,000-strong African Union force from countries, including Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, and Djibouti.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
SSM/HE
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