(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-04 00:09

WASHINGTON -- The US military fired several precision missiles to a "known terrorist target" in southern Somalia, CNN reported on Monday.

A US military official said the strike was aimed at a " facility where there were known terrorists" linked to the al-Qaida near Dhoobley that is close to the Kenyan border.

The official said on condition of anonymity the strike was conducted very deliberately not to hit civilians, but he did not disclose any casualty since the military is still collecting post- strike information.

However, local officials in Dhoobley said two houses were destroyed by the strike, leaving three women and three children dead, and another 20 injured.

Last year, a US Navy ship off the Somalia shore launched a strike against suspected al-Qaida targets in the nation.

Another similar strikes against al-Qaida targets was conducted in southern Somalia in January 2007 with the aim at killing militant suspects involved in the 1998 attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. But the US military did not believe that the goal was achieved.