U.S. forces were in Somalia to try to capture powerful Somali warlord Mohammed Aidid from his stronghold in the war-torn capital and take him to a ship anchored off the nearby coast.

CNN: U.S. supported France's failed hostage rescue in Somalia

If Mr Nkunda and other alleged war criminals, such as another warlord, Congo's Thomas Lubanga, whose trial has just begun at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, are sent to prison, hundreds of thousands of displaced Congolese may feel safe enough to start going home.

ECONOMIST: Congo and Rwanda

The perpetrators "want to trigger a sectarian war in Afghanistan, " said parliament member Mohammad Mohaqiq, a former warlord and one of the Shiite community's most influential leaders.

WSJ: Attacks Point to New Afghan Conflict