U.S. pressuring Libya, officials say

Two U.S. raids in Africa show the United States is pressuring al-Qaida, officials said yesterday, though a failure in Somalia and an angry response in Libya also highlighted Washington's problems.

In Tripoli, U.S. forces snatched a Libyan wanted over the bombings of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi 15 years ago and whisked him out of the country, prompting Secretary of State John Kerry to declare that al-Qaida leaders "can run but they can't hide."

But the capture of Nazih al-Ragye also provoked a complaint about the "kidnap" from the Western-backed prime minister; he faces a backlash from armed Islamists who have carved out a share of power since the West helped Libyan rebels oust Moammar Gadhafi two years ago.

In Somalia, Navy SEALS stormed an al Shabaab stronghold in response to the attack on a Kenyan mall but they failed to capture or kill the al-Shabbab terrorist target known as Ikrima, U.S. officials said.