from a commercial ship aiming to capture the al shabaab leader known as ikrima. as they approached the shore side villa they are met by heavier gunfire and heavier than they expected. the element of seeing children lost in the compound, the s.e.a.l.s withdrew without their man. there was a firefight, absolutely. they took every step to avoid civilian casualties in this case and that is what our military personnel do. reporter: the military sources say the s.e.a.l.s were never pinned down and had rescue teams nearby at all times. just hours later and 3,000 miles away in libya, another daring operation. this one in broad daylight in downtown tripoli. abu al libi was picked up. they say he had just returned from prayer, when u.s. forces many in masks surrounded his car
does, sending in the drones and just launching a missile and killing this guy. well, that s absolutely right. if they managed to capture him maybe they could have started to take apart of wing, and it raid followed two weeks exactly after the attack on the westgate man mall and this operative was near the top of the suspect list when it came to sort of plotting attacks in kenya, so some speculation he may well have been involved in summer way in that terrible attack. would you anticipate more drone strikes against these various targets in somalia? they ve been going on for a while, as you know. i think we can expect the united states to ramp up the precious against al shabab. it s a terrorist groups that s promised more attacks in east africa, including against american interests, so great concern from the united states. the leader of this group is trying to transform it from a militia insurgent group into an
nairobi, kenya, left dozens dead, a luxury mall destroyed and a country terrorized. it is attacks like this, bold, sophisticated and beyond somalia s borders that helped lead the u.s. to target al shabaab on its home territory. it was a daring operation, late friday night, s.e.a.l. team six, the same team that killed osama bin laden, launched from a commercial ship towards shore, aiming to capture the al shabaab leader known as ikrima. met by a hail of gunfire in a shoreside vil wila, the s.e.a.l team withdrew without their man. hours later and 3,000 miles away in libya, another daring operation. this one in broad daylight in downtown tripoli. the target, abu anas al libi, picked up by members of the elite u.s. delta force. his family said they surrounded his car, many in masks, and rushed al libi away as his wife watched in terror from a window. she spoke exclusively with cnn.
eastern, 8:00 p.m. pacific for a cnn special shutdown showdown. i will turn you over to wolf blitzer. he is in the situation room. a week into the government shutdown, a much greater financial crisis already looming. in ten days, the united states may start drowning in its own red ink but amid all the harsh words from both sides, a cryptic comment from the white house could offer a glimmer, a glimmer of hope. what if, what if the debt ceiling deadline passes with no deal and america can t pay its bills? we are taking a closer look at a very scary scenario. and twin u.s. raids aimed at high value terror targets in africa, a top al qaeda suspect is captured but an attempt to snatch an al shabaab leader has a different outcome. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. just seven hours from now
figure. we ve been learning new information from a leaked kenyan intel, also from a former western secret agent, who actually penetrated al shabab, and spent time with the guy they were trying to target. he was in his late 20s, spend time in norway between 2004 and 2008. he s a kenyan nationality, and has really emerged as a key figure in terms of them in the last 1 months, but also been the point guy for the western recruits going into somalia, and also the other foreign fighters. we ve learned today that one of his top ambitions was to use these western fighters to launch an attack back in the west, wolf. it suggests to me the fact that commando, paul, the special forces were going in to capture him. they wanted to get him and start questioning him, as opposed so imp simply what the u.s. often