How the US raid on al-Shabaab in

Somalia went wrong

Abdalle Ahmed in Mogadishu, Spencer Ackerman in Washington and
David Smith in Johannesburg

As a mother of young children, Fadumo Sheikh is used to rising early.

Last Saturday she was due to prepare their breakfasts before they went
to the local madrasa. But the day started earlier than ever when, at
around 2am, she was woken by the sound of sporadic gunfire.

Within sight of Sheikh's home in Barawe, Somalia, crack American navy

Seals had launched a lightning amphibious assault on the Islamist
militant group al-Shabaab. Less an hour later they would be forced to
retreat, their mission far from accomplished. Based on interviews with
witnesses and members of al-Shabaab, as well as official statements
and media reports, the Guardian can present the most comprehensive
picture yet of the daring pre-dawn raid – and where it went wrong.
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 The Americans' target was an innocuous two-storey beachside house
in Barawe, a fishing town of about 200,000 people that was a crucial
slave trade port in the colonial era. In particular, they had planned the
delicate operation of capturing, not killing, Abdulkadir Mohamed
Abdulkadir, a Kenyan of Somali origin and senior commander of al-
Shabaab who was linked to a number of terrorist plots.

The house, about 200 metres from the sea on the town's east side, is
understood to be used by foreign extremists who have gone to Somalia
to take up al-Shabaab's cause. The group's presence there was not
news to Sheikh.

"I live in a house near the beach and I used to see the house every day.
There were so many al-Shabaab fighters entering and coming out," she
said. "I usually see them going back and forth but I had never thought
that so important a person was living inside the house."

Early morning gunfire was unusual, Sheikh continued, except when al-
Shabaab was conducting training exercises. "I raised my ears and I
continued to hear the gunfire growing. I had no feeling or thought of
such an attack from the Americans. I looked at my watch about 30
minutes later and heard one explosion and then, a few minutes later,
another explosion occurred, like boom!"

What had been invisible to Sheikh and other residents of Barawe was
the stealthy advance of navy Seal team six – the same unit that killed
Osama bin Laden in Pakistan – in a speedboat towards the Somalian
coastline before first light. The team consisted of about 20 Seals,
according to leaked accounts, and their craft was flanked on the Indian
Ocean by three small boats to provide back-up.
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 'They looked like three big cows'
The Seals swept ashore, but not everyone in Barawe was asleep in
those chilly early morning hours. Abdurahman Yarow, a longtime
resident of the town, recalled: "I was wrapping my turban on my neck
and head to protect against the cold and heading to the mosque. When
I had nearly entered it, I heard a sound behind me. I saw what looked
like three big cows going towards the north of the mosque – it was dark
so I could not identify well what they were.

"After only 10 minutes I heard the first guns – that is, when the gun
battle occurred between al-Shabaab fighters in the house and the US
forces. I now understand the big cows I saw in the night were the
American special forces with their military bags on their backs going in
the direction of the house they targeted."

The Seals took up positions inside the house's compound, according to

a report by NBC, which continued: "Then a lone al-Shabaab fighter
walked out into plain view, smoked a cigarette, and went back inside,
one source familiar with the details of the raid said. The fighter played it
cool, and gave no indication that he had spotted the Seals. But he
came back out shooting, firing rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle."
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 The element of surprise had been lost and al-Shabaab's fighters
unleashed gunfire and grenades in a cacophony that rang out across
the town, murdering sleep before dawn prayers. But the Americans
continued on the offensive, according to an elder who did not wish to
be named. "The attackers from the US divided into two groups," he
said. "Group one, comprising six men, stormed the house and began
shooting the people inside it, while group two, also of at least six men,
were staying outside the house. The worst shooting took place inside
where one al-Shabaab fighter was killed. Al-Shabaab had more fighters
inside and they fought extremely hard against the Americans."

The elder continued: "The Americans tried to enter room by room into
the house to start searching for the big fish but al-Shabaab got
reinforcing fighters from other houses and then the situation
deteriorated until the Americans retreated."

According to the NBC account, several Seals could see Abdulkadir

through windows but he was heavily protected; according to al-
Shabaab, he was not in the building. While Pentagon officials have
been reluctant to provide a full narrative, they have said US forces
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 retreated from the gun battle out of a concern for potential civilian
casualties. Details leaked to the press suggest that the compound
contained far more women and children than the Seals expected.

The commandos returned to their boat, grateful for having suffered no

casualties, and finally there was calm. Sheikh recalled: "At 3am the call
for prayer started, and all the gunfire stopped. A neighbour called me
on the phone and said there is an attack against the mujahideen. When
it became safe enough to see everything outside, I came out to look
around. Outside the house which came under attack there were some
fighters of al-Shabaab and some residents come to witness the
incident.

Members of al-Shabaab, targeted in a failed US military raid on the Somali coast. Photograph: Feisal
Omar/Reuters

"These al-Shabaab fighters were not talking to the people. Some of

them were masked and you could not see their faces. I saw one dead
man and he was loaded into a car for burial. They were saying 'the
martyr', which is the only word that you can understand for an al-
Shabaab member who's been killed."
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 The dead man was Abdulkadir's bodyguard, according to one source in
the town. On Tuesday, the Somali defence minister, Abdihakim Haji
Mohamud Fiqi, claimed two al-Shabaab members had been killed: "We
have found that two senior commanders – one of them foreign – were
killed in the attack despite the top target not being found." A UN official
in Somalia also said two al-Shabaab figures had been killed: one
Sudanese man and another of Somali and Swedish origin.

Sheikh continued: "There were more fighters and supporters of al-

Shabaab coming to the house in the morning; they were vowing that
they will kill anyone who is found working with the non-believers.

"On the beach, the residents were looking at items left by US forces. I
saw a grey military bullet-proof jacket. There was also blood scattered
on the ground. There were military boots on the ground which we
suspect were those of the Americans."

Local backlash
In the aftermath of the US assault, al-Shabaab deployed more heavily
armed fighters to patrol the streets of Barawe, while also posting men
and anti-aircraft weapons on the beach. There was also a local
backlash with a hunt for suspected informants who helped US
intelligence locate the house. A man who frequently used the local
internet café was arrested on Sunday and is still being held.

Al-Shabaab took control of Barawe in 2008 and it became a refuge for

its senior figures after they lost control of the capital, Mogadishu, and
other towns in 2011. These have included the leader Ahmed Godane,
who has been described as Africa's most wanted man after the
Westgate mall bombing in Nairobi; Omar Hammami, the so-called
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 "jihadist rapper" from Alabama killed last month after falling out with
Godane; and Abdulkadir himself.

A destroyed section of the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, an attack blamed on al-Shabaab. Photograph:
AFP/Getty Images

Barawe is about 135 miles (218km) from Mogadishu. The nearest town
where government and African Union forces have control is
Shalanbood, only 68 miles (110km) away. To the east is the Ambaresa
training camp for al-Shabaab's foreign fighters. Forced marriage is
common in Barawe: when al-Shabaab commanders including foreign
fighters come for their daughter, few parents can say no, even if the girl
is underage.

The events of Saturday 5 October could boost al-Shabaab's

confidence in its defences but also give it notice that the world's most
powerful military is ready to bring the battle to its doorstep. Speaking at
a mosque in Barawe on Monday night, al-Shabaab's military operations
spokesman Sheikh Abiasis Abu Mus'ab said: "Western countries …
have to bear in mind we know that we are your target, but we will not be
caught off guard.
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 "We know you are sharpening your knives to cut our heads off. We
know our enemies. We will not oversleep so you can attack us at once.
We are always vigilant and your cowardly attacks will end in failure."

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, who studies Somalia and al-Shabaab at the

Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, described Barawe as
"right now the strongest area of sanctuary" for the militant group. He
said it was likely that al-Shabaab expected something like a foreign raid
after it perpetrated the attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall.

Gartenstein-Ross said the probable immediate response by al-Shabaab

would centre around strengthening its internal security and grip on
Barawe, rather than launching another terror attack.

"The raid has made them very nervous," he added. "In Barawe it's
already been reported that al-Shabaab has implemented curfews.
There will be an uptick in operational security and they will certainly use
the way they repulsed this attack by navy Seals as a propaganda
piece."
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 US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks to the press in Seoul. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

But the US defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, said the operation in

Somalia, along with a near-simultaneous one in Libya, demonstrated
the "unparalleled precision, global reach and capabilities" of US
counter-terrorism. "These operations in Libya and Somalia send a
strong message to the world that the United States will spare no effort
to hold terrorists accountable, no matter where they hide or how long
they evade justice," Hagel said.

Pentagon spokesman George Little suggested that more special

operations raids against al-Shabaab were yet to come. "Working in
partnership with the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia,
the United States military will continue to confront the threat posed by
al-Shabaab," Little said in a statement on Monday. "The United States
military has unmatched capabilities and could rely on any of them to
disrupt terrorist networks and plots."

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