A US missile strike in Somalia on Monday targeted a Kenyan suspected in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, officials said on Tuesday.
The Navy was going after Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan when it launched at least two Tomahawk missiles from a submarine off the coast of Somalia, Pentagon and FBI officials said.
"Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan is on the FBI's "seeking information list" and is wanted by the FBI for questioning in connection with the 2002 attacks at the Paradise Hotel and the unsuccessful surface to air missile attack against an Israeli airliner in Kenya," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said.
The list is made up of subjects the FBI would like to talk to, while the Most Wanted Terrorist list is suspects who have been indicted.
"He is also thought to be an associate of al-Qaeda member Harun Fazul, who was indicted for the 1998 embassy bombings," Kolko said, referring to the August 1998 simultaneous bombings of the embassies on Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in which more than 200 people were killed.
He said he could not confirm whether Nabhan had been hit in the strike and referred questions to the US Defense Department.
The Pentagon official said he had no information on whether the attack succeeded. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
US officials had said on Monday that the missile attack was aimed at a "known al-Qaeda terrorist" but declined to name him.
Hundreds of people shouted anti-US slogans on Tuesday in Dobley, the southern Somali town that was hit in Monday's attack.
Meanwhile, a report by the Government Accountability Office said on Tuesday that the US needs a comprehensive new strategy for Somalia. The report said a number of challenges have limited existing US and international efforts to stabilize the country.
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