By RYAN GORMAN

The Somali operation, a raid on a highly-fortified terrorist bunker on the coast south of Mogadishu, used water and darkness to its advantage – but the Tripoli, Libya raid took advantage of the natural barriers provided by cornering the target in his gated community while parking a car.

The Libyan target, senior al-Qaeda member Anas al-Libi, was quickly captured without a single shot being fired. Officials are unsure of the Somali target, a high-ranking al-Shabaab member, was killed in a fierce firefight that ended when Navy SEALS retreated.

Accused of plotting the coordinated twin 1998 bombings of United States Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed over 200 and injured well over 1,000 people, Anas al-Libi, 49, was captured rather simply, according to family members.

The wanted man was parking his car outside his family’s home in a gated community in Tripoli after morning prayers when three cars filled with armed commandos encircled him, said his sister-in-law.

They jumped out, smashed his window and took his weapon within seconds. Anas al-Libi was then extracted from the car and taken with the Special Forces soldiers as they fled the neighborhood, she explained.

First said to be armed foreign commandos by the frightened woman, US officials later confirmed Anas al-Libi’s capture. The Libyan government was aware of the raid in advance.

No special vehicles were used in the capture, a stark contrast to the Somali raid.

Coming ashore in boats under cloak of darkness, Navy SEALS quietly advanced up the beach towards a home in Baraawe, about 150 miles south of the Somali capital city Mogadishu.

Using silencers, the SEALS opened fire on the beach house exactly two weeks to the day the Westgate Mall siege began.

It is not clear how many SEALS were involved in the dramatic raid, but they were soon engaged by the terrorists in a loud firefight that startled neighbors and forced the withdrawal of the American commandos after roughly an hour.

Witnesses said 12 al-Shabaab militants were in the home at the time of the attack, likely staying before deploying to a mission abroad. Somali government officials said one person died in the attack, local police claimed seven men were killed, according to Reuters.

Aware of the assault in advance, a Somalian government official said several ‘high-profile’ foreigners were targets of the SEALS.

One enemy combatant died, a spokesperson for the terror group said. There were no American casualties, according to US officials.

‘Westerners in boats attacked our base at Baraawe beach and one was martyred from our side,” an al-Shabaab spokesman told Reuters. ‘No planes or helicopters took part in the fight. The attackers left weapons, medicine and stains of blood, we chased them.’

US officials have been unable to confirm the identity of the killed terrorist. Under heavy fire, the SEALS had to withdraw before being able to do so. The al-Shabaab spokesperson also hasn’t confirmed which terrorist was killed.

The Westgate Mall siege lasted three days and resulted in the deaths of 69 people.

Source: Mail Online