WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua)-- The United States on Wednesday defended its airstrikes against suspected al Qaeda members in Somalia, saying the action was to prevent the lawless Africa nation from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.

    "The United States took this action because we had information about the presence of senior al Qaeda leaders" in Somalia, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.

    "These are obviously international terrorists and we have said repeatedly that when we have information that might lead us to be able to bring some of these people to justice and to take action against them, that we would do what is necessary," he said.

    A U.S. AC-130 gunship bombed at least two villages in southern Somalia Monday, targeting suspected al Qaeda operatives wanted in connection with the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

    It was reported that 224 people were killed and more than 4,500others were wounded in the bombing of two American embassies.

    Somalia has been without a functioning central administration since 1991 and the government, formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004,has been wracked by infighting and its inability to assert control over much of the country.