... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...hard boyz who were planning to terrorise Kenyans using the Alungu-Elwak road, Mandera County, officials said, while confirming the incident, Tuesday.
According to the officers, the bully boyz were also in the final stages of placing explosives on the main road targeting civilian vehicles. It is the norm of the hard boyz to plant explosives on major link roads within the northeastern parts of the country.
"The bully boyz were caught in the act of setting up the IED. A fierce firefight ensued, during which two hard boyz were neutralised and others sustained serious injuries before fleeing into nearby thickets with our gallant officers in hot pursuit," officials said.
"Recovered items include two AK-47 rifles, a Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) warhead, and a fully assembled IED, averting a potential large-scale attack on civilian traffic." This successful operation highlights the continued commitment and vigilance of Kenya's security forces in the fight against terrorism.
The incident comes a day after the Mandera County leadership held a high-level meeting with the regional administration of Jubaland in Kismayo
...a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia, at the extreme southern end of the country (always assuming Somalia can be called a country). It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region....
, with security within the region featuring predominantly during the encounter.
Jubbaland’s First Vice President, Mahmoud Sayid Aden, met with the Governor of Mandera County, Adan Khalif, in Kismayo to discuss shared security concerns along the porous frontier, where the al-Shabaab holy warrior group continues to threaten lives, trade, and regional stability.
Vice President Aden underscored the Jubbaland administration’s commitment to defeating al-Shabaab and protecting civilians on both sides of the border. Kenya Defence Forces plays a critical role in the stabilisation of Somalia.
"We will not allow al-Shabaab to disrupt economic activity or endanger the lives of our citizens and neighbors," Sayid said after the talks, stressing the importance of maintaining open and secure trade routes for the benefit of communities who depend on cross-border commerce.
Shabelle Media tells the tale without the hyperventilating:
Kenyan Security officers from the anti-terror police unit killed two terrorists during an ambush in Mandera on Monday.According to the Counter Terrorism Policing, officers from the elite Special Operations Group (SOG), acting on intelligence, launched an operation in the wee hours of the night in Mandera and ambushed the terrorists as they were planning to launch an attack.
The militants from the Al Shabaab terror group were reportedly planning to terrorise Kenyans using the Alungu-Elwak road, Mandera County.
In a related development, on the morning of May 8, the elite SOG neutralised an Al-Shabaab terrorist in Garissa while responding to the reports by locals of militants attempting to plant improved explosive devices (IEDs) along the Dadaab-Hagadera road, targeting civilians and security vehicles.
During the exchange of fire, one militant was killed, and three others were injured. Security officers also managed to arrest one of the suspects.
The authorities recovered several weapons from the scene, including a PKM machine gun, an AK-47, a pistol, a comms radio, and an IED remote.