Bodies of 4 Kenyan soldiers slain in Somalia flown home

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday said that Kenya remains unbowed following the daring attacks staged by Al-Shabaab militants last Friday on a Kenya Defence Force (KDF) base in El-Adde in Somalia.

Al Shabaab said it killed more than 60 Kenyan soldiers from the African force AMISOM, which said there was a battle for the base without giving details.

Kenyan officials have not said how many soldiers were killed in the attack on Friday, and have warned Kenyans against publishing images that may incite the public.

“I would like to extend my honest condolences to the families of the gallant soldiers who lost their lives, and to the people and government of Kenya”, Sharmake said.

The group, which has ties with al Qaida, has also carried out many deadly attacks inside Kenya.

Al-Shabaab claimed it killed 63 soldiers, however, AMISOM spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Njuguna has dismissed that figure as “propaganda”.

They however did not say the number of the Kenyan troops they are holding hostage. The attackers used vehicles packed with explosives and suicide bombers.

“We embarked on a search, rescue and recovery operation as a priority”, military chief Samson Mwathethe told reporters on Sunday morning in the capital Nairobi.

He warned that the blood of KDF’s fallen heroes was not shed in vain and vowed to pursue the militants behind the attack.

Kenya police during Westgate attack.

Kenya has so far declined to say how many of its soldiers are dead, injured or missing but on Sunday a Shebab statement said that more than 100 Kenyan soldiers were killed and others captured.

Al-Shabab said in a statement its Friday attack on the Somali base “sends a clear message to the Kenyan government that their military’s invasion of our Muslim lands and the massacre of innocent Muslims perpetrated by the Kenyan crusaders will not be without severe consequences”, Reuters reported Friday.

Al Shabaab has been driven out of major strongholds in Somalia by an offensive by AMISOM and the Somali army that was launched past year.