Kenyan troops were killed when al-Shabab Islamic fighters attacked an African Union base in Somalia, Kenya’s president said Friday.
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The military camp which the attacker attacked is located about 550 km from the Kenyan border in Mogadishu’s south west Ceel Cedo district.
While the retired Major General confirmed that some members of the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) were killed in the 4:00AM attack, he did not state the exact number of soldiers who lost their lives. But the group still controls some rural areas and frequently launches attacks saying it wants to drive out the “invaders”.
“However, we will keep Kenyans updated as events unfold”, he added.
“The mujahedeen fighters carried out a successful operation this morning on a military base at El-Adde, and they have killed numerous Christian soldiers from Kenya”, Musab said.
According to preliminary analysis, the use of Vehicle Borne Improvised Devices (VBIED) in Friday’s raid totally devastated the KDF defences.
“We embarked on a search, rescue and recovery operation as a priority”, Gen. Samson Mwathethe, Kenya’s military chief, told reporters Sunday in a press statement.
The militants say the attacks are retaliation for the Kenyan military presence in Somalia and “war crimes” committed by Kenyan troops.
Al Shabaab often cites higher figures for death tolls than those given by officials, who usually play down the numbers.
“AMISOM is in Somalia to resurrect stability and help the Somali people and its government in attaining and establishing a secure and harmonic nation.” said Prime Minister Sharmarke.
“We have over the years relieved millions of citizens of the Federal Republic of Somalia from the pitiless oppression of terror”, he said.
Shebab spokesman Shebab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Musab claimed to have killed 63 Kenyan troops in the pre-dawn attack, but this could not be immediately verified.
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Kenya has more than 4,000 troops in the 22,000-strong AU force in Somalia helping the UN-backed government battle Al-Shabaab, which is part of the Al-Qaida allied terror network.
