COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The president of Somalia says he needs the help of the United States to battle terrorists in his country.
President Sheik Sherif Sheik Ahmed (shayk sheh-REEF’ shayk AHK’-mehd) said Wednesday that the east African nation and the United States have common interests because both have been threatened by al-Qaida.
The comments at a convention center in Columbus, Ohio, came less than a month after a U.S. commando raid killed an al-Qaida operative, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan (SAH’-leh ah-LEE’ SAH’-leh nuh-BAHN’), in southern Somalia on Sept. 14.
Ahmed says it’s necessary to do something about al-Qaida with the U.S. and that his country does not have the capacity to do such work alone.
The suspect killed last month was wanted for the 2002 car bombing of a beach resort in Kenya and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner.
