WASHINGTON – Pentagon officials say the United States launched an air strike in Somalia to go after a terrorist suspect.

In the strike early Monday, Somali police said three missiles hit a Somali town held by Islamic extremists, destroying a home and seriously injuring eight people.

A Pentagon official said the U.S. military was going after an al-Qaida suspect in the town. As yet, there is no word on whether the suspect was hit. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the strike.

The strike follows one last year in which the U.S. shelled suspected al-Qaida targets in Somalia.