Djibouti, January 25, 2006 (ANDnetwork .com) – Somalia was once the scene of a deadly firefight for US troops. Now it's a quiet front in the hunt for al-Qaeda.

US troops pulled out in 1993, but troops are still watching the country and its borders very carefully.

The Horn of Africa is one of the frontlines in the war against al-Qaeda. There is small US military team, which mainly conducts humanitarian relief in this place. But they are watching al-Qaeda, because al-Qaeda is watching them.

The Horn of Africa is the border of Somalia, a place that is ungoverned, uncontrolled and now there is great concern that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups are moving freely through the region.

Watches and photos of Osama bin Laden were distributed in villages across Somalia in the last several weeks. Major General Timothy Ghormley, Commander of the military task for the Horn of Africa gave a watch to CNN.

"We know for a fact there is an East Africa al-Qaeda cell in Somalia. It's been referred to as mad max and the thunder dome in southern Somalia," Major General Timothy Ghormley Commander, military task for the Horn Of Africa said.

Somalia has no central government and the US has limited knowledge of what is happening following its withdrawal in 1993.

Military intelligence is watching for several top al-Qaeda operatives in this region. Two in particular are Harun Fazul involved in the US Embassy bombing in Nairobi and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, the main planner behind an attack on an Israeli airliner in East Africa.

Military officials say terrorist groups have made threats to attack the 14-hundred US troops in the Horn region. The threat is expected to grow.

"We are winning up in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are going to have to go someplace. They will have to move to another area. An area where there is safety where they can begin to rebuild," Major General Timothy Ghormley Commander, military task for the Horn of Africa said.