Somalia's deputy premier: U.S. ground forces needed to flush out al-Qaida

U.S. special forces are needed on the ground in Somalia to flush out remaining al-Qaida suspects, the deputy prime minister said Wednesday.

Photo: Somalia's deputy premier: U.S. ground forces needed to flush out al-Qaida

"The only way we are going to kill or capture the surviving al-Qaida terrorists is for U.S. special forces to go in on the ground," Hussein Aideed told The Associated Press. "They have the know-how and the right equipment to capture these people."

Aideed, a former U.S. marine, said that Islamic militants have dug underground bunkers in virtually inaccessible areas of the war-ravaged country making it almost impossible to capture them.

"What is needed is heat seeking equipment and other specialist technology which we do not have," he said. "The Americans can do this. As far as we are aware they are not on the ground yet, but it is only a matter of time. But they may be here already because they act independently of us for their own security reasons."