Washington, Jan 12 (DPA) A small contingent of US troops entered Somalia after a US air strike earlier in the week aimed at Al Qaeda leaders, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Citing anonymous US officials, the newspaper said troops entered southern Somalia to determine who had been killed in the strike, but reported that it was not clear whether the troops remained in the country.

At this point, "no one can confirm a high-value target" had been killed, a source told the Post.

Evidence indicated that Aden Ayrow, head of the military arm of the deposed Islamic Courts movement, had been at the scene. One US official quoted in the article said eight to 10 people suspected to have terrorist connections were killed in the attack.

The targets were allegedly fleeing the capital with members of the Islamic Courts movement that had controlled Mogadishu, but were ousted last month.

The US ambassador to Kenya Thursday had denied media reports that a leading Al Qaeda terrorist believed to be responsible for the 1998 attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania was among those killed in an air strike in Somalia.