Mogadishu, Somalia: Foreign troops in helicopters strafed a car on Monday in a Somali town controlled by Islamist insurgents, killing two men and wounding two who were then captured and flown away, witnesses said. The commando-style action comes amid growing fears that Al Qaida is gaining a foothold in this lawless nation.

It was not clear who was behind the attack in a village near Barawe. Foreign nations have conducted airstrikes in the past to capture or kill suspected militants. Last year, US missiles killed reputed Al Qaida commander Aden Hashi Ayro - the first major success after a string of US military attacks in 2008.

Many experts fear Somalia is becoming a haven for Al Qaida, a place for terrorists to train and gather strength - much like Afghanistan in the 1990s. The UN-backed government, with support from African Union peacekeepers, holds only a few blocks of Mogadishu, the war-ravaged capital.

Like much of Somalia, Barawe and its surrounding villages are controlled by the militant group Al Shabab, which the US accuses of having ties to Al Qaida. Al Shabab, which has foreign fighters in its ranks, seeks to overthrow the government and impose a strict form of Islam in Somalia.

Eyewitness Abdi Ahmed said six helicopters buzzed the village before two of the aircraft opened fire. After the helicopters fired, white foreign soldiers in military fatigues got out and left with the two wounded men.

"There was only a burning vehicle and two dead bodies lying beside it," said Mohamed Ali Aden, a bus driver who drove past the burnt-out car minutes after the attack, some 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Mogadishu.

Somalia's weak government has very few resources and does not have helicopters or other modern equipment. One witness, Dahir Ahmed, said the helicopters took off from a warship flying a French flag, but that could not be confirmed.

French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck denied the attack was a French operation.

"They are not French helicopters," he said.

France has previously launched commando raids to rescue French nationals. The US government, haunted by a deadly 1993 US military assault in Mogadishu chronicled in "Black Hawk Down," is trying to neutralize the growing terrorist threat without sending in troops.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not comment on the operation or on any potential US involvement.

Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohammad Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other. A moderate Islamist was elected president in January in hopes that he could unite the country's feuding factions, but the violence has continued unabated.

Mogadishu sees near-daily battles between government and insurgent forces. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed.

Somalia's lawlessness also has allowed piracy to flourish off its coast, making the Gulf of Aden one of the most dangerous waterways in the world.