Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldiers based at Boni Forest in Lamu killed four Al-Shabaab militants on Saturday.
The four were part of a group of Al-Shabaab fighters who were trying to cross the border into Kenya when they encountered KDF soldiers in the Sarira area.
In a statement, KDF said several other Al-Shabaab militants escaped into Somalia with multiple injuries following the shootout. No injuries were recorded on KDF troops during the encounter.
“KDF troops under operation Amani Boni, have intensified patrols in the locality and will continue, along with other security agencies and support from local residents, to pacify the area in a bid to get rid of Al Shabaab terrorists,” a KDF statement reads.
The operation comes in the wake of numerous attacks by the Somali-based terror group in Lamu County and other areas near the Kenya-Somalia border.
Al-Shabaab fighters have carried out several attacks inside Kenya in retaliation for Nairobi sending troops into Somalia in 2011 as part of an African Union force to degrade the jihadists.
The al-Qaeda-linked group is determined to topple the UN-backed government in Mogadishu, and controls swathes of southern Somalia from where it regularly launches attacks in Somalia and elsewhere.
Lamu lies close to the Somali frontier and has suffered frequent attacks, often conducted with roadside bombs.
I always take such news with…
I always take such news with a grain of salt. Al Shabaab usually move in a small group and can hide and move easily. They know the terrain because it is their staging grounds. I think KDF killed some noncombatants and are using that killing for perceptional value.