MOGADISHU, Somalia — A senior al-Qaida suspect wanted for bombing American embassies in East Africa was killed in a U.S. airstrike, a Somali official said today, a report that, if true, would mean the end of an eight-year hunt for Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a top target in Washington's war on terror.

There was no immediate confirmation from the U.S. In Washington, a U.S. intelligence official said the U.S. killed five to 10 people in an attack on an al-Qaida target in southern Somalia but did not say who was killed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the operation's sensitivity, said a small number of others present, perhaps four or five, were wounded.

The report came as U.S forces apparently launched a third day of airstrikes in southern Somalia. Witnesses said an AC-130 gunship attacked a suspected al-Qaida training camp. At least four separate strikes were reported Wednesday around Ras Kamboni, on the Somali coast and a few miles from the Kenyan border.

Also Wednesday, Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister said American troops were needed on the ground to root extremists from his troubled country, and he expected the troops soon. It was the first indication that the U.S. military may expand its campaign.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Former revolutionary Daniel Ortega takes office today in a ceremony attended by more than a dozen world leaders, many Latin American leftists celebrating their latest ally in the region.Ortega has promised a delicate balance between taking a moderate economic and social stance while cultivating close relationships with U.S. opponents such as Venezuelan Hugo Chavez and the communist Cuban government. Ortega was once one of the most bitter foes of Washington, which secretly backed a rebel insurgency aimed at toppling him.Chavez, who has called President Bush the "devil," is using his visit to play up his support of Nicaragua, promising the impoverished nation desperately needed electricity plants, low-interest loans to the poor and help for the country's health and education systems.Another guest attending will be Bolivian President Evo Morales, a close ally of Chavez and ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Morales has expressed doubts about the U.S. drug war efforts in the Andean region and recently announced that U.S. citizens would need visas to visit Bolivia.By The Associated Press