Interim Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah has strongly rejected American charges that the al-Qaeda network led by Osama Bin Laden has bases in Somalia. He was responding in a BBC interview to a statement from a top United States official that Washington had evidence of definite links between al-Qaeda and the Somali Islamic group, al-Itihad. Asked about reports that the US might carry out air strikes on Somalia, Mr Hassan Abshir said there would be no justification for this. He commented wryly that Somalis themselves had already wrought enough destruction on their country. "We have sent to the Bush administration a letter of invitation to come here to see what is here... We are ready to fight against the terrorists," he said. UN officials have said they have found no credible evidence to link Somalia to terrorist camps, but fears persist within the country of some kind of US action. Already a US warship has been stationed off the Somali coast and this weekend there were reports that surveillance flights had been carried out over the country. Reports have also spoken of a meeting between US officers and opposition warlords in Somalia's second city of Baidoa to identify potential "terrorist" targets, according to sources. The interim prime minister also said a new peace conference for Somalia would open later this week in Nairobi. He said he hoped to be able to announce a new cabinet after this, which would include all factions. Mogadishu's transitional government controls only parts of the capital and Washington fears that the absence of state authority makes Somalia a potential haven for extremist groups.