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libya as well as somalia. >> yeah. i think that's concerning both places. al shabaab will not just take this. they will try to mount some sort of retaliation. now, what capability do they have to react against the navy s.e.a.l.s? that might not be so great, but they could launch another attack inside kenya aimed at the west, aimed at the kenyan government. the united states and kenya have a very close working relationship, so they may go after these soft targets rather than going after things they know they can't successfully attack anymore. we've pardoned some of the embassy. but malls are the new airplanes. they may go after something like that. in libya, libi by his name, you know he was a libyan national, so there may be reprisals aimed at american facilities there and you know, as i think it was
of the attack will be brought to justice hopefully, but i think 15 years later, that was really a watershed in terms of you know, kind of terrorist attacks against u.s. embassies abroad. really caused a major investigation or re-examination of u.s. facilities overseas. there have been so many commissions and reports and rebuilding of embassies around the world and you see as nic has been saying, 15 years later, these embassies and consulates are still fragile. on the 15-year anniversary of the attack in august, that's a heightened security concern that u.s. embassies in the arab world and in africa, about 20 posts were closed because of threats, possible threats because of al qaeda and you saw with the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi last year, that even everything that's been done over these years to strengthen the security u.s. posts as these terrorists become more sophisticated, as they look for softer targets, as they look for
s.e.a.l.s intended to capture, barbara. >> this occurred in the last 24 hours. a us navy s.e.a.l. team moving into an al shabaab stronghold town in south central somalia. they were going after someone they believe to be a major figure in the al shabaab network. this is the al qaeda affiliation in somalia that recently spread into kenya, in that shopping mall attack. growing concern that the group had rising strength and rising ab ability to project its power outside of somalia into kenya against western interests, so that was what they were going after. by all accounts, the s.e.a.l.s ran into intense opposition when they got to this down. fire fight ensued and they made the decision to withdraw rather than engage in further combat, so they left before they could
determine whether or not they were able to kill the man. no s.e.a.l.s as far as we know, injured in the attack. not clear yet the level of damage in the town. the number of somalis or al shabaab fighters. a very fuzzy picture, but a clear indication there was a great deal of hostility on the ground when they engaged in this fire fight. >> the information, this that happened in libya, came in earlier today and now, we're getting bits and pieces about the actual confirmation, that al libi has been captured and then also now, this latest one that that happened this somalia, details are coming in about that and we expect more moment by moment. >> we do. we expect more details in the coming hours and perhaps over the next couple of days. the move to get anas al libi,
ways to breach these compounds, it's still a fragile situation and now, if you have this attack on the mall in kenya, now, u.s. marines are there to find security at the american embassy in nairobi, so the quicker that they try to fortify these posts, even as they're doing it, it's still becoming more dangerous and the threats are coming fast and furious. so, even as there will be a celebration that al libi is, was nabbed and hopefully brought to justice, you know, the state department security officials know that this could even cause greater threats to u.s. facilities overseas. >> beyond that, can you talk to us more about what's happening now at the state department? because remember, the state department came under a lot of criticism after the benghazi attack. secretary clinton specifically and now, secretary kerry. i would imagine watching this situation very closely.
north of africa is a growing threat and danger and to go in now into libya certainly does show with the knowledge of the libyan government, does show some compliance there, but again, we don't know what the outfall for this weak libyan government is going to be, don. >> all right, our senior national correspondent nic robertson is in london. barbara starr is following this from the pentagon. i want to get now to our foreign affairs reporter, elise. she is joining us by phone. listen, let's talk about how sensitive these embassy attacks are, even years later. 1998. you cover this, the state department for years as well. talk to me about that. >> well, i mean, don, 15 years after the attack. i mean, obviously, there will be you know, kind of cheers and a celebration that the master mind
figure. unknown koeconsequences becausee of the concerns in libya is that any u.s. action to capture people involved in the benghazi attack could have led to a potential backlash. so the question right now is will this arrest capture of abu anas al libi, will that lead to an attack. and that's a very real concern that i'm hearing from people with, who, who spend a lot of time in libya. who were in contact with government agencies. that would have an interest in securing u.s. premesis other foreign national premesis inside libya. so that is the concern at this moment. how does this play out with the islamists who are strong inside libya with the libyan government
u.s. special forces captured an al qaeda ab rative. he is topped the most wanted list for some time now. he was captured in tripoli. u.s. officials say the operation was conducted with the knowledge of the libyan government. the u.s. had a $5 million bounty on his head. that's new information. captured with the knowledge of the libyan government. al libi joined al qaeda soon after its founding and is considered a senior member of the terror group. now, we go to somalia. us navy s.e.a.l.s team went on a mission to nab an al shabaab leader possible ly linked to th kenya mall attack. the s.e.a.l.s had to withdraw before they could confirm he was killed because they were under fire. a u.s. official says he does not believe any s.e.a.l.s were killed. we don't know exactly what happened to that al shabaab