Somalis Take to the Streets To Protest U.S. Airstrike

MOGADISHU, Somalia — More than 1,000 people protested yesterday against an American airstrike last week that killed the reputed head of Al Qaeda in Somalia along with 24 other people in a central Somali town, organizers said.

The protesters — most of them women and children — took to the streets in Dusamareeb shouting "Down with the Bush administration, the so-called superpower!" and "Down with their stooges!"

The town chairman, Mohamed Mohamud Warsame, said by telephone that about half of the town's population of 3,000 people had taken part in the demonstration.

The head of education in the town, Abdi-risaq Moalim Ahmed, said three students died and four were seriously injured in Thursday's airstrike on the house of Aden Hashi Ayro. He said the students were between the ages of 13 and 19.

"Our town has been severely affected by the recent U.S. attack and still we fear because planes continue to fly over our city," Mr. Ahmed said.

Thirteen-year-old Nur Ahmed Nur was among several relatives of those who died in the strike who spoke at the gathering.

"The U.S. strike killed my brother, my sister, and also wounded my grandmother. We are refugees and fled from Mogadishu. When did we become a terrorist target?" Nur said in an address to protesters.

Thursday's strike killed Ayro and another senior Islamist militia leader along with three others in their house. The rest of the casualties were from surrounding homes. Ayro was a leader of the al-Shabab militia, labeled a terrorist organization by Washington. America has often accused Islamist Somalis of harboring international terrorists linked to Al Qaeda.