20100720
reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to step up assistance to African Union forces in Somalia and take more aggressive action against al Shabaab Islamist rebels who carried out deadly bombings in Uganda earlier this month, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. intelligence agencies have warned of growing links between al Shabaab in Somalia and al Qaeda's network in East Africa, and the Obama administration has made it a priority to track and target top militants in both groups, officials said.

The expanded U.S. military assistance to African Union forces could include additional equipment, training, logistical support and information-sharing, said General William Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested lethal operations targeting al Shabaab could expand as well.

"This terrorist group is primarily focused on targets in the region, but we can't discount its aspirations to conduct operations elsewhere," the official said, calling connections between al Shabaab and al Qaeda in Africa "deeply troubling."

"It's hard to figure out in some cases where one group ends and the other begins. They train together and obviously share the same penchant for hatred and violence. That's why it's critical that we take aggressive action to thwart them," the counterterrorism official said.

"Our efforts are aggressive and have intensified."

A growing U.S. role in the conflict could fuel anti-American sentiment in Somalia some 18 years after a bloody U.S. battle in Mogadishu that was depicted in the movie "Black Hawk Down."