AMISOM TROOPS KILL 42 AL-SHABAAB FIGHTERS IN SOMALIA..23 AK47 RIFLES, RPGs SEIZED

Kenya Army trucks and OTT Puma M26 MRAPs

NAIROBI, Aug. 29
(Xinhua)

Troops of the African Union Misson in Somalia (AMISOM) who are battling in Somalia on Wednesday killed 42 Al-Shabaab militants while scores escaped with multiple injuries as military operation to flush out insurgents intensifies in the Horn of Africa nation.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir said the battle which took place in Aglibah area near Beles Qooqani in southern Somalia early on Wednesday saw AMISOM forces recover 23 AK 47 rifles, six rocket propelled grenades, 428 rounds of ammunition and other assorted weapons.

“AMISOM forces together with TFG soldiers in sector two conducted a raid at an Al-Shabaab stronghold base in Aglibah area near Beles Qooqani on Aug. 29. The raid neutralized 42 Al-Shabaab militias with scores of others escaping with multiple injuries,” Chirchir said in a statement released in Nairobi. Chirchir said four Al-Shabaab technical vehicles, one water bowser, one lorry and logistic supplies were destroyed as the war against al Qaida-allied terror group continues in the Horn of African nation.

“One TFG soldier sustained minor injuries and was flown to Dobley for medical attention. The joint forces have since occupied the area and are carrying out pacification operations,” Chirchir said. The development comes as the military has stepped up security along the common border with Somalia as the AU forces extend their major onslaught on the insurgents blamed for bomb and
grenade attacks in Kenya’s territory.

The Kenyan forces currently under the command of AMISOM are dealing with specific targets against the Al-Shabaab, but security has been stepped on the Kenyan side of the border. Al-Shabaab has 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.

Al-Shabaab has said it views the presence of Kenyan troops in southern Somalia as an act of war. The group which has teamed up with global terror network al Qaida is now vowing an all-out war in Kenya, in protest against the military incursion “against our brothers in Somalia.”