In a pre-dawn attack May 1, US missiles destroyed the home of reputed al-Qaeda leader Aden Hashi Ayro in Dusamareeb, Somalia. The attack killed 24 others in the targeted house and nearby homes. "This will not deter us from prosecuting our holy war against Allah's enemy," Sheik Muqtar Robow, a spokesman for Ayro's al-Shabab militia told AP via telephone. "If Ayro is dead, those he trained are still in place and ready to avenge against the enemy of Allah."

Said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, exiled chairman of the Alliance for Liberation and Reconstitution of Somalia: "The US strike can undermine the U.N.-sponsored peace parlay. We will reconsider taking part...due to the US military attack." Talks scheduled in neighboring Djibouti. (AP, May 2)

Ethiopian troops opened fire on civilians in a street in Baidoa, killing 13 April 20 after an explosion there killed two soldiers. (AP, April 30)

See our last posts on Somalia and al-Qaeda.