Twelve killed in Kenya Defence Forces’s surprise attack on Al-Shabaab camp

An Al Shabaab commander based in the Coast region was among 12 killed during a raid carried out by Kenya Defence Forces soldiers on Thursday, March 19.

Speaking to the Daily Nation, Coast Regional Commissioner John Elungata, confirmed the incident, going on to reveal that the coordinated attack occurred at Korisa Kotile Camp.

“There has been a continuous operation by the KDF. This is commendable,” he stated.

Located in Nginda, Lamu County, the hideout had been on the radar of KDF’s key intelligence officers who carefully planned and oversaw the successful covert attack that caught members of the outlawed militia group flat-footed.

Reports further revealed that the Kenyan soldiers were able to capture one of the terrorists.

An array of weapons including several AK 47 rifles, over 1,000 bullets, and seven magazines, were seized following the raid.

A botched attack by the terrorist group on Kotile Special Operations Group Camp on March 13, is believed to be what drove KDF soldiers to launch their swift counter-attack.

Kenya has been battling the outlawed militia group both inland and across the border under the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) umbrella.

Amisom replaced and subsumed the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Peace Support Mission in Somalia (Igasom), which was a proposed Intergovernmental Authority on Development protection and training mission to Somalia approved by the African Union on September 14, 2006.

Currently, the military component is comprised of troops drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia who are deployed in six sectors covering south and central Somalia.

The latest successful raid comes just days after Kenya’s special forces killed six militants and captured one in Jirole, Garissa County.

Speaking to the media at the time, North Eastern Regional Commissioner Nicholas Ndalana disclosed that they had carried out the security operation as part of efforts to address increased cases of Al-Shabaab attacks.

Al Shabaab militants have been carrying out attacks in Kenya, especially in Garissa and Lamu counties.

Between January and February 2020, 16 attacks have occurred in Garissa, Lamu, Mandera, and Wajir.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, in February, gave the leaders from the North-Eastern region two weeks to come up with a solution to the various security challenges in the region that has adversely affected various activities, especially education.

This was after 804 non-local teachers have left Mandera over insecurity on February 5, throwing the county into a full-blown education crisis.

Source: Kenyans