U.S. targets terrorists in Somalia, reports say

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military launched a strike Monday against several suspected members of al-Qaida in Somalia, CBS News reported Monday. The targets, CBS reported, included the senior al-Qaida leader in East Africa and an al-Qaida operative wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The same operatives are also believed responsible for a 2002 attack on Israeli tourists in Kenya and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli aircraft the same day, NBC News reported.

Citing Pentagon sources, CBS reported that an Air Force AC-130 gunship led the attack against the site at the southern tip of Somalia. There was no confirmation that the Air Force had killed either of the al-Qaida targets.

U.S. Navy vessels have been deployed off the coast of Somalia to make sure al-Qaida or allied jihadists don't escape the country, the State Department said last Wednesday.

The 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed more than 250 people. The 2002 attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya killed 15.