No plan for US troops in Yemen, Somalia: Obama

WASHINGTON (Agencies) President Barack Obama says he has "no intention" of sending U.S. troops to fight militants in Yemen and Somalia, despite growing concern over the presence of militant cells there.

Obama made a fresh push for international cooperation to confront militants in Yemen, where the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Michael Mullen, said sending troops was "not a possibility."

"I never rule out any possibility in a world that is this complex... In countries like Yemen, in countries like Somalia, I think working with international partners is most effective at this point," Obama said in a People interview to be published Friday. The magazine released a transcript Sunday.
I have no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground in these regions."

He insisted the lawless tribal belt straddling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border "remains the epicenter of al-Qaeda," but acknowledged a Yemen-based affiliate of Osama bin Laden's network has become "a more serious problem."