US special forces prepare for Somalia mission

American special forces are training for missions in Somalia where al-Qaida members are thought to have fled.

The Green Beret commandos, however, do not yet have enough information to start action.

They have already formed anti-terrorist units and practised storming compounds, reports claim.

Troops have also received intelligence briefings on the warlords who control Somalia and which of them may harbour bin Laden's associates.

Action has been delayed because their potential targets are small in number, widely scattered and difficult for American intelligence agents to detect.

A senior US official said: "There is not enough intelligence on Somalia right now on which to base an attack."

Green Berets are operating in Afghanistan and are also in the Philippines, where American troops are providing training to local forces fighting Islamic rebels Abu Sayyaf.

Units of the 5th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, have been assigned to the training missions preparing for action in Somalia.

Their deployment would be the first time US troops have set foot in the country after they withdrew in 1993, following the disastrous firefight, dramatised in the film Black Hawk Down, which cost the lives of 18 special forces and up to 1,000 Somalis.

The American military presence around Somalia has been stepped up since September 11, with spy planes flying overhead to monitor suspected al-Qaida training camps. Navy warships are stationed off the coast to intercept any terrorists trying to sneak in from Afghanistan.