The Somali Islamist extremist group al-Shabab says it captured some Kenyan soldiers during last week’s attack on an African Union peacekeeping base in southwestern Somalia. “With our allies, we will continue in Somalia to fulfil our mission”, he said in Friday’s comments.
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The African Union’s AMISOM force, which includes Kenyans, along with Somali troops have driven al Shabaab from major strongholds in Somalia in a wave of offensives.
Thirty-four Kenyan soldiers injured in the attack have been flown home for treatment.
“They are not injured, they are just traumatised”, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said at the airport.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Friday that “some of our patriots in uniform” were killed.
The insurgents “stormed the Kenyan base in the early hours of Friday morning, killing more than 100 Kenyan invaders, seizing their weapons and military vehicles and even capturing Kenyan soldiers alive”, said an email statement cited by AFP.
A middle-aged man was Tuesday afternoon arraigned before a Kiambu court and charged with posting pictures of fallen Kenya Defence Forces soldiers who were killed by Al Shabaab militants at the El Adde camp in Somalia on Friday.
Al-Shabaab has however, vowed reprisal attacks in the country, mainly targeting security forces in border towns of northern Kenya where dozens of people have been killed in landmine and grenade attacks blamed on the militant group.
The Prime Minister also stressed that the cowardly terrorist attack by Al Shabab will not deter nor hamper the government’s astute plan in eliminating and eradicating the remnants of the terrorist group from the whole country.
African Union troops, government officials and foreigners are frequently targeted.
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