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KDF, SNA Kill 23 Al-Shabaab Militants Near Kenyan Border In Clash
[RADIOSHABELLE] A combined joint task force of the Somali National Army (SNA) and Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) AMISOM contingent killed 23 members of al-Shabaab...  the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...terror group in Fahfahdun town situated in the South West prefecture of Gedo Province of Somalia. KDF conducted an assault targeting the new base of the Lions of Islam in the outskirts of Fahfahdun town, reports say. The holy warriors withdrew from the positions they held in the area. An exchange of heavy weaponry that lasted four hours left 23 holy warriors dead, three tactical vehicles with mounted machine guns destroyed, and light machine guns seized by the army. The holy warriors were planning to use the base to conduct ambushes and attacks targeting the SNA and KDF troops in pacification mission in the region. On Sunday, unknown KDF personnel were maimed when an armoured personnel carrier they were travelling in ran over a roadside explosive in Gedo region region on Sunday. The victims were flown to Nairobi. Local residents said the incident happened between El Wak town and Busar village, both located near Somalia’s border with Kenya. The region is an al-Shabaab hot-spot area where security vehicles have run over bombs in the past. KDF, which is part of Amisom troops in Somalia has started withdrawing from there as part of plans to leave some operations to Somali troops. KDF went to Somalia in October 2011. Kenya’s incursion into southern Somalia started after the kidnapping of two Spanish women, who were working for MSF at the Dadaab refugee camp. The abductions were carried out by the holy warriors who the troops said planned to push away under the Operation Linda Nchi. Two years later, the troops managed to take control of Kismayo  ...a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia, at the extreme southern end of the country (assuming Somalia can be called a country). It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region...port under Operation Sledge Hammer. Initially a team of about 2000 troops had been engaged in the operation but the number doubled when Kenya joined UN’s AMISOM. Posted by: Fred 2018-03-02 |
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