U.S. officials are continuing their hunt for top al Qaeda militants in Somalia after air strikes failed to kill them earlier this week.
Previous reports suggested that Comorian Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Sudanese Abu Talha al-Sudani and Kenyan Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan were killed by U.S. strikes.
However, a senior U.S. official in the region told Reuters that his country was still looking for the suspects.
"We are still in pursuit. We and the Ethiopians and everyone else wants to interdict terrorists," said the official, who declined to be named.
The men are wanted for allegedly planning the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The official said that a strike on Monday had killed between eight to 10 "al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists."
"There were a number of terrorist targets that were killed in that operation," he added. "It was directed at significant al Qaeda individuals."
An Islamic movement has controlled most of Somalia for the past six months, but government troops and Ethiopian soldiers intervened on Dec. 24, and over 10 days of fighting routed the movement from power, driving the Islamist fighters to the south of Somalia near the Kenyan border.
The move allowed Somalia's UN-backed transitional government to enter the capital, Mogadishu, for the first time since 2004, when the government was formed.
UN weighs in
The United Nations Security Council is throwing its support behind the African Union's plan to deploy thousands of troops to Somalia.
The council considers the Somalia situation a "high priority matter," said Vitaly Churkin, Russia's UN Ambassador.
He made the statement Wednesday after a closed-door meeting, saying that instability, security and the humanitarian situation are key issues in Somalia.
"They expressed their support for the plan to send a humanitarian assessment mission to the border between Somalia and Kenya and spoke of the importance of adequate humanitarian support for Somalia," Churkin said.
"They strongly supported inclusive political dialogue among various political forces in Somalia. They favor speedy deployment of IGASOM," a new force to be set up by the African Union and a seven-nation regional group.
Nigeria, South Africa and Malawi are all considering sending troops to Somalia, said Ibrahim Gambari, the undersecretary general for political affairs. He said he hoped the countries would follow through and actually deploy the troops.
The powerful body is also pushing for the delivery of aid to the struggling nation and is urging initiatives to open up dialogue between all political players in the dispute.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has expressed concern that the air strikes could escalate hostilities and harm civilians.
Michele Montas, UN spokesperson, said Wednesday that despite the Somali government's support for Ethiopian troops and U.S. operations, the secretary-general "still believes that it is in the best interests of all to avoid escalation and go back to a politically negotiated process."
In 1991, warlords brought down the government of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, then turned on each other shortly afterwards, sending the nation into chaos.
With files from The Associated Press
