Ras Kamboni
Encyclopedia
Ras Kamboni 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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
forces seized control of the town in what a military spokesman characterised as a bloodless takeover.
Jubbada Hoose
Lower Juba is an administrative region in southern Somalia. With its capital at Kismayo, it lies in the Jubaland autonomous region.Lower Juba is bordered by Kenya, the Somalian regions of Gedo, Middle Juba, and the Indian Ocean...
region, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, which lies on a peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
near the border with Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. American officials have said that it has served as a training camp for extremists with connections to Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
; al-Sharq al-Awsat reported in May 1999 that al-Qaeda was installing sophisticated communications equipment in the camp.
US security concerns in the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
, particularly at Ras Kamboni, heightened after the attacks on 9/11. On December 16, 2001, Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Dundes Wolfowitz is a former United States Ambassador to Indonesia, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, President of the World Bank, and former dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University...
said the US was meeting with various Somali and Ethiopian contacts to "observe, survey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for Al Qaeda operatives. On March 2, 2002 a briefing was held in the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
discussing the possible use of Ras Kamboni by Islamic terrorist groups, including al-Ittihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and Al Qaeda. 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.
American officials believe that several terrorist attacks were orchestrated from Ras Kamboni, including the 1998 United States embassy bombings
1998 United States embassy bombings
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were a series of attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the East African capitals of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The date of the...
and the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing.
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.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
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is an aircraft carrier currently in service with the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1977, the ship is the second of the ten Nimitz-class supercarriers currently in service, and is the first ship named after the thirty-fourth President of the United States, Dwight D....
had been moved into striking distance. The aircraft flew out of its base in Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
. Many bodies were spotted on the ground, but the identity of the dead or wounded was not yet established. The aid organization, Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, 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.
Further developments
Al-Shabaab took control of Ras Kamboni after the Ethiopian withdrawal. However, on October 20, 2011, Somali Transitional Federal GovernmentTransitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
forces seized control of the town in what a military spokesman characterised as a bloodless takeover.