The United States has carried out a second air strike in Somalia.
The new air strike came two weeks after an US air attack killed what Washington said were eight al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters hiding among Islamist remnants pushed to Somali's southern tip by Ethiopian and Somali government forces.
One official said the targets this week were from the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), a militant group defeated by government troops with Ethiopian military backing in a two-week war started before Christmas.
A second source said the target was an al-Qaeda operative.
US Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger met SICC leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who is being held by Kenyan intelligence in a Nairobi hotel.
Washington wanted to encourage dialogue and cooperation between the transitional government and more moderate Islamists, officials said.
Mr Ranneberger, also responsible for Somalia, has said Ahmed is among those who could play a role in the inclusive reconciliation process Washington believes it is necessary to unify Somalia's multiple factions.
Ahmed, one of the most visible faces of the SICC during its six-month rule of most of southern Somalia, surrendered at the Kenya-Somalia border.
Diplomats say Kenya, with US support, has pushed the Somali government leaders to sit down with Ahmed for talks.