At first it was unclear what the Somali fighters were after.

The bloody battle between American forces and Somali street fighters in 1993.

As they move into the countryside, the foreign troops can be expected to come into increasing contact with the Somali fighters.

But the marines' assault proved overwhelming, and many of the Somali fighters soon fled their positions.

At least 15 Somali fighters surrendered, General Wilhelm said, and many more fled into the bush.

On July 27, 200 Somali fighters also traveled to Syria to be trained in guerrilla warfare, the report says.

While Somali fighters would be no match for Americans forces with heavy firepower, they are extreme and often impetuous clan loyalists.

Officers had feared that the troops might encounter resistance from Somali fighters as they moved about the huge market, but the operation was completed virtually without gunfire.

Other sources indicated that Somali fighters were used for engineering methods, primarily by digging trenches to hide ammunition and launch ambushes from the mountains.

A journalist reconstructs the strange and horrific battle between American soldiers and Somali street fighters in Mogadishu in 1993.