US fighter jets strike southern Somalia

Mogadishu: At least six people were killed after US fighter jets struck the southern Somali town of Dobley late Sunday, witnesses said on Monday, in an attempt to drive an Islamist group completely out.

AC-130 gunships targeted two homes in the town that were allegedly visited by senior Islamist leader Hassan Turki, who is suspected to have ties to Al Qaida

A senior US military official confirmed the strike, saying, "We launched a deliberate strike against a suspected bed-down of known terrorists."

Residents said Turki was in the region to mediate a conflict between his militias and government security forces.

Twice in January last year, US gunships aided the Somali government in ousting the Ismalist group