(CNN) -- In two raids nearly 3,000 miles apart, U.S. military forces went after two high-value targets over the weekend. And while officials have yet to say whether the operations were coordinated or directly related, they show Washington's reach, capability and willingness to pursue alleged terrorists.
One operation took place Saturday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, when U.S. forces captured Abu Anas al Libi, an al Qaeda leader wanted for his role in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
In the second raid, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs in southern Somalia targeted a top leader of Al-Shabaab, which was behind last month's mall attack in Kenya. The SEALs came under fire and had to withdraw before they could confirm whether they killed their target, a senior U.S. official said.
"One could have gone without the other," said retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona, CNN's military analyst. "But the fact that they did them both, I think, is a real signal that the United States -- no matter how long it takes -- will go after these targets."
The operations come at a time when polls show the American public is skittish about more involvement in conflicts overseas. That means, Francona said, that others who might be in the U.S. government's cross hairs could have more reason to worry.
Al Libi tied to U.S. embassy bombings
Al Libi, 49, has been high on the radar for years. He was on the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
He is alleged to have played a key role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed and another 5,000 wounded in the Kenya attack; 11 died in the Tanzania incident.
He has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, murder, destruction of American buildings and government property, and destruction of national defense utilities of the United States.
As early as December 2010, Libyan authorities told a United Nations committee that al Libi was living there, even giving a Tripoli address for him.
U.S. officials wanted al Libi, to face trial in an American court. But counterterrorism analysts told CNN in 2012 that al Libi may not have been apprehended because of the delicate security situation in much of Libya, where ex-jihadists -- especially those who once belonged to the Libyan Islamic Fighters Group -- held considerable sway since the campaign against and ultimate ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Relatives of Johnny Mutinda Musango, 48, weep after identifying his body at the city morgue in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, September 24. Musango was one of the victims of the Westgate Mall hostage siege. Kenyan security forces were still combing the mall on the fourth day of the siege by al Qaeda-linked terrorists.
Photos: Kenya mall attack
Abu Anas al Libi, a key al Qaeda operative wanted for his role in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, has been captured in a U.S. special operations forces raid in Tripoli, Libya, U.S. officials told CNN on Saturday, October 5.
Photos: Al Qaeda leader captured
The Saturday operation was conducted with the knowledge of the Libyan government, said one U.S. official. The Pentagon said late Saturday night that the U.S. military was holding al Libi in a "secure location" outside Libya.
"It's a huge deal to get him," said CNN's Nic Robertson, who has long been covering al Qaeda. "He's a big player in al Qaeda (and) he is in one of the key target areas, the north of Africa."
Beyond any psychological impact on the terrorist group, al Libi's capture could potentially yield a wealth of information about the al Qaeda's plans and capabilities. The terrorist network has shown particular strength of late in Africa, something he might be able to shed light on.
"Clearly, he may have useful information about the strength of al Qaeda and the Islamists in Libya," Robertson said. "He is somebody who is senior within al Qaeda. He was well respected, a good operative."
The United States made significant efforts since those nearly simultaneous 1998 bombings to beef up its security at U.S. diplomatic posts. But as the September 11, 2012, attack on a U.S consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya, showed, they are still very much under threat. The Benghazi attack killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Al-Shabaab blamed for Kenya mall attack
Al-Shabaab long has been a target of Washington as well: It was designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2008. The group is seeking to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, though it has other African countries as well.
The attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall thrust Al-Shabaab into the spotlight once again. Washington vowed to support Kenya's government after the bloody raid, which killed at least 67 people.
The Al-Shabaab raid took place Friday in the southern Somalian port city of Barawe.
The Pentagon would only say the operation was against a "known Al-Shabaab terrorist." But town residents told CNN the "foreign forces" came via speed boat and stormed a house believed to be a hideout for several top militant commanders, including the group's top leader Ahmed abdi Godane, also known as Moktar Ali Zubeyr.
A senior U.S. official said the Navy SEALs inflicted some Al-Shabaab casualties, and came under fire.
They made the "prudent decision" to withdraw rather than continue combat, and couldn't confirm whether they killed their target, the official said.
No U.S. personnel were injured or killed in the raid, another U.S. official said.
Abdiaziz Abu Musab, an Al-Shabaab spokesman, said at least one Al-Shabaab fighter was killed in the gunfight.
South-central Somalia is where most of the group's foreign fighters and leaders live and is heavily guarded. The group there has been increasingly squeezed as Kenyan forces fight the group from the south and African Union forces come down from Mogadishu.
In the meantime, it's become even closer to al Qaeda -- with the two groups effectively merging last year, according to CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.
"This is a group that has adopted al Qaeda's ideology wholesale," Bergen said of Al-Shabaab. "The reason they attacked the mall was not only because it was Kenyan, but also because it attracted a fair number of Western businessmen and others living in Nairobi."
CNN's Elise Labott and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report
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Ann Gakii reacts at the Nairobi City Mortuary after identifying the body of her father, who was killed in the mall attack on Saturday.
A Kenyan soldier runs through a corridor on an upper floor at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 24, shortly before an explosion was heard. Sounds of heavy gunfire erupted from the mall Tuesday, even as authorities said they had the building under their control. But four days after Al-Shabaab terrorists stormed the swanky mall, several gunmen -- including snipers -- were still inside, two senior officials said.
Kenyan Defense Forces walk near the mall on Monday, September 23.
Kenyan Defense Forces leave the mall on September 23.
Stephen, center, is comforted by relatives as he waits for the post mortem exam of his father, who was killed in Saturday's attack at the mall.
A Kenyan police officer guards the entrance of a building near the mall on September 23.
A Kenyan security officer takes cover as gunfire and explosions are heard from the mall on September 23.
Heavy smoke rises from the Westgate Shopping Mall on September 23.
Medics take cover behind a tree as gunfire and explosions are heard from the Westgate Mall on September 23.
A Kenyan police security officer runs for cover as heavy smoke rises from the mall on September 23.
A paramedic runs for cover outside the mall on September 23.
People run for cover outside the mall after heavy shooting started on September 23.
Kenyan security forces crouch behind a wall outside the mall on September 23.
Soldiers take cover after gunfire near the mall on September 23.
Kenyan paramilitary police officers patrol the area near the mall on Sunday, September 22.
Soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive outside the Westgate Mall on September 22.
A woman shields a baby as a soldier stands guard inside the Westgate Mall on Saturday, September 21.
A rescue worker helps a child outside the mall.
People who had been hiding inside the mall during the gunfire flee the scene.
An armed official takes a shooting position inside the mall.
An armed official crouches on September 21.
Bodies lie on the ground inside the mall.
Men help a wounded woman outside the mall.
Officials carry an injured man in the mall.
Soldiers move up stairs inside the Westgate Mall.
Armed police leave after entering the mall. At least one suspect has been killed, a government official said. Police have said another suspected gunman has been detained at a Nairobi hospital.
Armed police take cover behind escalators as smoke fills the air. Witnesses say tear gas was thrown in the corridors.
A woman who had been hiding during the attack runs for cover after armed police enter the mall.
A body is seen on the floor inside the smoke-filled four-story mall.
An injured person is helped on arrival at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi after the attack at the upscale mall.
A soldier directs people up a stairway inside the Westgate on September 21.
An injured man is wheeled into the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.
People run from the Westgate Mall.
A Kenyan woman is helped to safety after the masked gunmen stormed the upscale mall and sprayed gunfire on shoppers and staff.
Crowds gather outside the upscale shopping mall. The interior ministry urges Kenyans to keep off the roads near the mall so police can ensure everyone inside has been evacuated to safety.
A policeman carries a baby to safety. Authorities said multiple shooters were at the scene.
Bodies lie outside the shopping mall.
A security officer helps a wounded woman outside.
Elaine Dang of San Diego is helped to safety after the attack. The military asked local media not to televise anything live because the gunmen are watching the screens in the mall.
Paramedics treat an injured man outside the mall.
Medical personnel carry a body away.
A body lies outside the mall. Gunmen shot people outside the mall as they entered it
A woman is pulled by a shopping cart to an ambulance.
A wounded man is escorted outside the mall.
A police officer carries a baby as people keep low and run to safety. Crowds dashed down the streets as soldiers in military fatigues, guns cocked, crawled under cars to get closer to the mall.
People run away from the scene.
Armed Kenyan forces take position to secure the area around the shopping mall as ambulances move in to carry the injured.
A woman reacts after she is rescued from the mall.
A couple flee the area. As night fell, authorities said they had cornered the gunmen in the mall.
The blast on August 7, 1998 at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killed more than 200 people. Kenyan security guards keep watch on August 8, 1998, at the scene of explosion.
A guard looks over the site of the bomb blast on August 8, 1998, in Nairobi, Kenya.
Rescuers help move survivors from the explosion site in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 7, 1998.
The Tanzania blast went off nearly simultaneously, to the one in Kenya on August 7, 1998, leaving 11 people dead. Here, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright talks with a member of the FBI at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam on August 18, 1998. Visible in the background is the tanker that was used to create the explosion.
A U.S. Marine talks with an FBI investigator in front of the bomb-damaged U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on August 15, 1998.
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