Ras Kamboni

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official_name = Ras Kamboni
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pushpin_map_caption =Location in Somalia
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = flag|Somalia
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Jubbada Hoose
subdivision_type2 = District
subdivision_name2 =Badhaadhe District
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latd=1|latm=38|lats=|latNS=S
longd=41|longm=35|longs=|longEW=E
timezone =East Africa Time
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Ras Kamboni ( _so. Raaskambooni) is a town in the Badhaadhe district of Lower Juba region, Somalia, which lies on a peninsula near the border with Kenya. American officials have said that it has served as a training camp for extremists with connections to Al-Qaeda; al-Sharq al-Awsat reported in May 1999 that al-Qaeda was installing sophisticated communications equipment in the camp.cite news
title=CBS: U.S. Strikes Al Qaeda In Somalia
publisher=CBS News
date=2007-01-08
url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/08/world/main2335451.shtml
accessdate=2007-01-08] cite news
publisher=The Weekly Standard
date=2006-07-03
url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/396gitqe.asp
title=Night Falls on Mogadishu
accessdate=2007-01-08]

US security concerns in the Horn of Africa, particularly at Ras Kamboni, heightened after the attacks on 9/11. On December 16, 2001, Paul Wolfowitz said the US was meeting with various Somali and Ethiopian contacts to "observe, survey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for Al Qaeda operatives.cite news
title=U.S. returning to a nightmare called Somalia
publisher=San Francisco Chronicle
date=2001-12-16
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/12/16/MN115486.DTL
accessdate=2007-01-08 ] On March 2, 2002 a briefing was held in the Pentagon discussing the possible use of Ras Kamboni by Islamic terrorist groups, including al-Ittihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and Al Qaeda. [http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/8801.htm Terrorist Threat in Horn of Africa] US Department of State] In December 2002, the US established the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) to monitor developments in the region and to train local militaries on counterterrorism. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/cjtf-hoa.htm Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa] globalsecurity.org]

American officials believe that several terrorist attacks were orchestrated from Ras Kamboni, including the 1998 United States embassy bombings and the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing. [Abdi Abdi, [http://www.ena.gov.et/Link/The%20Talibanisation%20of%20Somalia.asp " The Talibanisation of Somalia"] , "Ethiopian News Agency", 12 July 2006]

Battle of Ras Kamboni

In the 2006 war in Somalia, Islamic Courts Union fighters fled Ethiopian troops to Ras Kamboni, to make a last stand on the country's southernmost tip. [Elizabeth A. Kennedy, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070105/ap_on_re_af/somalia "Somalia's Islamists vow to heed al-Qaida"] , " Associated Press", 5 January 2007]

On January 8, 2007, during the battle, it was reported an AC-130 gunship belonging to the United States military had attacked suspected Al-Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia. It was also reported that the aircraft carrier USS "Dwight D. Eisenhower" had been moved into striking distance.cite news
title =U.S. targets al Qaeda suspects in Somalia, Pentagon official says
publisher =CNN
date =2007-01-08
url =http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/01/08/somalia.strike/index.html
accessdate = 2007-01-08 ] The aircraft flew out of its base in Djibouti. Many bodies were spotted on the ground, but the identity of the dead or wounded was not yet established. The aid organization, Oxfam, reported 100 nomads were killed. The targeted leaders were tracked by the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as they headed south from Mogadishu starting on December 28.cite news
title=Reports say U.S. targeted al Qaeda suspects in Somalia
date=2007-01-09
url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2007-01-09T010418Z_01_N08416210_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SOMALIA-QAEDA-REPORT.xml&type=worldNews&WTmodLoc=World-C3-More-6
accessdate=2007-01-09 ]

References