Up to four foreign military helicopters carried out a raid on militants in southern Somalia today, it was reported.

One eyewitness claimed that the attackers were French. “Soldiers in two helicopters attacked a car passing near the village, killing two people and taking away several others,” Bashir Abdi, a local resident, said.

Mr Abdi told Reuters news agency that he saw what looked like French flags on the soldiers’ uniforms.

However, the French Army denied any involvement in the raid. “There was no French operation,” said Admiral Christophe Prazuk, spokesman for the Armed Forces general staff.

A local elder from Barawe, about 120 miles south of the capital Mogadishu, said that a car was destroyed in the attack and some of the passengers were taken away by the foreign troops.

“There was a military operation carried out by four foreign choppers in Erile village. A car was destroyed. We are also hearing that some of the vehicle's passengers were taken on the choppers,” Abdinasir Mohamed Adan told Agence France Presse.

Much of southern Somalia is controlled by Islamist extremists known as Al-Shabaab. The group is still holding one of two French intelligence agents seized in Mogadishu in July. The second agent escaped last month.

France has ordered attacks on Somali territory in the past. In 2008, French helicopter gunships chased down a gang of pirates after a $2 million (£1.2 million) ransom was paid for the release of a luxury yacht, Le Ponant, and its crew. Six pirates were arrested and a portion of the ransom recovered.

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