The United States naval forces have been deployed off the Somali coast to prevent leaders of vanquished Islamist militias with suspected ties to al-Qaeda and other extremists from escaping.

Kenyan media reports quoted U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack on Thursday as saying that no leaders who were members of the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) will be allowed to leave the lawless nation.

"We would be concerned that no leaders who were members of the Islamic Courts which have ties to terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda are allowed to flee and leave Somalia," he said.

The U.S. navy patrol came as Kenya closed and tightened border security to stop an influx of fleeing fighters, as aid agencies called for help for genuine refugees.

A two-week advance by Ethiopian troops swept the Islamist militias, who prior to their ouster had controlled much of central and southern Somalia for six months, after defeating a US-backed warlord alliance in Mogadishu in June, 2006.

Ethiopia accused the Islamist militias of al-Qaeda links, and sent troops into Somalia to back up forces loyal to the weak transitional government.

Washington said it was working closely with Somalia's Horn of Africa neighbors "to ensure that these individuals are not able to transit those borders," according to the spokesman.

"We of course have a presence off the coast of Somalia and Horn of Africa to make sure there are no escape routes by sea where these individuals could flee," McCormack said.

Kenya has deployed tanks and helicopters on its border, as militias fleeing south clashed near the border with Somali and Ethiopian troops. Fleeing Islamists said their retreat was tactical and had threatened to launch an insurgency.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju told a news conference late Wednesday that the border was closed to prevent an influx of weapons and fighters.

Ethiopian and Somali government forces late Wednesday captured the border town of Dobley, one of the final places held by the Islamist militias.

Four thousand refugees were reported to be stranded in the area, and they were deported by Kenyan authorities on Wednesday.

The U.S. forces, based in Djibouti, were patrolling the seas off Somalia in a bid to capture some leaders of the Islamic Courts movement, including suspected al-Qaeda agents wanted for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, Sean McCormack said on Wednesday.

The United States set up the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa in 2002 in Djibouti, a major hub for U.S. counter-terrorism training and operations as well as humanitarian efforts.

Source: Xinhua