MOGADISHU, Somalia \— Hundreds of people shouted anti-American slogans today during a rally in a southern Somali town hit a day earlier by a U.S. air strike targeting an al-Qaida terrorist.

The protesters — mainly women and children — took to the streets in Dobley shouting "Down with the so-called superpower" and "Down with their stooges!"

Residents and police in Dobley said at least eight people, including four children, were seriously injured when a home was destroyed. The attack was confirmed by U.S. officials, who said only that the target was a "known al-Qaida terrorist." The U.S. did not disclose the target's identity or the fate of the targeted individual and did not confirm reports of any other casualties.

The U.S. military has staged several attacks on suspected extremists in Somalia over the past year. America has been concerned Somalia could become a breeding ground for terrorist groups, particularly after Islamic militants briefly gained control of the south and al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden declared his support for them.

A radical Islamic movement that ruled much of southern Somalia in 2006 took over Dobley last week, led by senior official Hassan Turki. Turki, who is rarely seen in public, is on U.S. and U.N. lists of suspected terrorists for alleged ties to al-Qaida. His fate after the strike was not known.

The Islamic movement, the Council of Islamic Courts, seized control of much of southern Somalia, including the capital, Mogadishu, in 2006. But in early 2007, troops loyal to the U.N.-backed interim Somali government and the allied Ethiopian army defeated the Islamic group.

The Islamic council now appears to be re-emerging.

The United States has repeatedly accused the Islamic group of harboring international terrorists linked to al-Qaida and allegedly responsible for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The U.S. has avoided sustained military action in Somalia since it led a U.N. force that intervened in the early 1990s in an effort to fight famine. That mission led to clashes between U.N. forces and Somali warlords, including a battle in Mogadishu that killed 18 American soldiers.

Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. The current government was formed with U.N. help in 2004, but it has struggled to assert any real control.