Ras Kamboni (Somali: Raas kambooni) is a town in the Badhaadhe district of Lower Juba region, Somalia, which lies on a peninsula near the border with Kenya. American officials have said that it has served as a training camp for extremists with connections to Al-Qaeda; al-Sharq al-Awsat reported in May 1999 that al-Qaeda was installing sophisticated communications equipment in the camp.
US security concerns in the Horn of Africa, particularly at Ras Kamboni, heightened after the attacks on 9/11. On December 16, 2001, Paul Wolfowitz said the US was meeting with various Somali and Ethiopian contacts to "observe, survey possible escape routes, possible sanctuaries" for Al Qaeda operatives. On March 2, 2002 a briefing was held in the Pentagon discussing the possible use of Ras Kamboni by Islamic terrorist groups, including al-Ittihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and Al Qaeda. In December 2002, the US established the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) to monitor developments in the region and to train local militaries on counterterrorism.
American officials believe that several terrorist attacks were orchestrated from Ras Kamboni, including the 1998 United States embassy bombings and the 2002 Mombasa hotel bombing.
Read more about Ras Kamboni: Battle of Ras Kamboni
Other articles related to "ras kamboni":
... security concerns in the Horn of Africa, particularly at Ras Kamboni, heightened after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States ... On March 2, 2002 a briefing was held in the Pentagon discussing the possible use of Ras Kamboni by terrorist groups, including al-Ittihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI ... On December 28, 2006, withdrawal of the ICU to Ras Kamboni was reported as a possibility after the Fall of Mogadishu to Somali TFG and Ethiopian forces ...
... gunship attacks Al Qaeda operatives during the ongoing fighting in the Battle of Ras Kamboni (CNN) Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Somalia's interim President, arrives in the capital, Mogadishu, his first ... airstrike in the Battle of Ras Kamboni ... (BBC) January 12, 2007 (Friday) Somali government and Ethiopian forces capture the town of Ras Kamboni, and pursue fleeing Islamist forces ...
... The Battle of Ras Kamboni was a battle in the 2006-2007 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and the Somali ... arose over civilian casualties in additional airstrikes around Ras Kamboni and in Afmadow province, and whether these were the result of U.S ...
... Al-Shabaab took control of Ras Kamboni after the Ethiopian withdrawal ... However, on October 20, 2011, Somali Transitional Federal Government forces seized control of the town in what a military spokesman characterised as a bloodless takeover ...
... Hiraale announced TFG and Ethiopian forces were close to entering Ras Kamboni after two days of fierce battles ... Premature reports came of the fall of Ras Kamboni ... To the north of Ras Kamboni, elsewhere in Badhadhe province, an Ethiopian force intercepted Islamist forces in the area of the Kenyan border town of Amuma, Garissa district ...