Somalia Channel and Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It lies between latitudes 2°S and 12°N, and longitudes 41° and 52°E. Strategically located at the mouth of the Bab el Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the country occupies the tip of a region that, due to its resemblance on the map to a rhinoceros' horn, is commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa. Somalia has the longest coastline on the mainland of Africa, with a seaboard that stretches . Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. The nation has
2009 timeline of the War in Somalia organization were shot and killed in south-western Somalia in Eelbarde town in Bakool region. In the Bay region al-Shabaab militants shot and killed a Khat trader. French special forces soldiers launched a raid on a yacht being held by Somali pirates freeing four of five French citizens being held hostage by the pirates. Two pirates were killed and three detained in the operation, and subsequently the fifth French citizen was shot and killed as well. No soldiers were injured or killed in the rescue operation. U.S special forces launched an operation to rescue an American sailor held captive by pirates