Al Shabaab fighters launched a series of attacks over the course of the past week targeting Kenyan troops in occupied southern Somalia. The brunt of those attacks taking place in the volatile Lower Jubba province of Somalia.
Local contacts based in the port city of Kismaayo reveal insurgents shelled a Kenyan military base on the outskirts of the city in the nearby district of Cabdalla Biroole. The mortar attack was said to have lasted for several minutes.
Following the fierce shelling, smoke could be seen billowing over the skies. However the number of casualties remains unclear at the moment.
A similar incident occurred in the coastal town of Kudha, when militants launched an assault and stormed a Kenyan military base in the vicinity of the strategic coastal town. Eyewitnesses reveal an intense exchange of gunfire ensued between both sides in the periphery of the Kenyan military base.
Both of these attacks are said to have taken place just a mere couple hours apart on July 1st. The Kenyan Defense Force (KDF) which has thousands of troops deployed in southern Somalia is yet to comment on these latest string of attacks targeting there troops.
The following day, Al Shabaab militants launched a brazen assault on another Kenyan military base in the Lower Jubba province, this time targeting KDF troops stationed in the Kulbiyow district. The militants are said to have stormed the grounds of the KDF base but where repelled by Kenyan military contingents at the scene.
On a similar note, in the early hours of Thursday morning, Al Shabaab fighters once again shelled a base housing Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) in the Cabdalla Biroole district outside the port city of Kismaayo.
At least four Kenyan troops are said to have been killed, while several more where wounded in the intense shelling. Shortly after the shelling local contacts that spoke with Halgan Media on condition of anonymity confirm unmarked helicopters where spotted hovering over the skies of the Kenyan military base in the Cabdalla Biroole district.
The Al Aqaeda affiliated armed group Al Shabaab have claimed responsibility for all four attacks on Kenyan troops in the past 48 hours. However the Kenyan Defense Force (KDF) remains tight lipped on these latest encounters with insurgents.
The Kenyan military invaded Somalia in 2011 under the guise of the US led war on terror. The Kenyan military have maintained it’s illegal military presence in Somalia ever since, which many of the locals view as an occupation.
The Kenyan Defense Force (KDF) routinely carry out blatant war crimes and indiscriminate massacres of civilians in Somalia. Countless villages have been raised to the ground by KDF war planes, while several thousand Kenyan troops remain on operating on the ground with impunity.
Halgan Media Service Desk.
