The U.S. military has launched an air strike against targets suspected of al-Qaida operations in southern Somalia, U.S. media reported Monday.

An AC-130 gunship flew its mission within the last 24 hours, CNN quoted a senior Pentagon official as saying.

The operation was launched based on intelligence that al-Qaida operatives were in that location, but there was no immediate indication of how successful the strike had been, it said.

The AC-130 gunship, operated by the Special Operations Command, flew from its base in Djibouti to the southern tip of Somalia, where the al-Qaida suspects were believed to be operating.

Additionally, U.S. aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has moved within striking distance of Somalia, but its jets have not been put to use, the official told CNN.

News reports said the al-Qaida suspects fled Mogadishu, the Somali capital, after Ethiopian troops entered the country late last month and were tracked with unmanned aerial drones as they moved south.

Source: Xinhua