Whose helicopter is it? Helicopter attack on Somali coastal town leaves unanswered questions

Whose helicopter? Attack on Somali coast reported

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Residents of the Somali coastal town of Merca say a military helicopter flew over their town and fired on the town after militants fired at the aircraft.

But U.S. military officials and a spokesman for the European Naval Force say their helicopter wasn’t involved in Sunday’s incident.

But no one seems to know who the helicopter belongs to.

U.S. military officials in Germany who represent conventional and special operations forces in Africa said Monday it wasn’t one of their helicopters. A spokesman for the EU Naval Force, which runs an anti-piracy operation off Somalia’s coast, said the same thing.

Merca resident Abdullahi Qalirow says insurgents fired at the helicopter Sunday and that the helicopter fired back.