Kenyan man charged for sharing photos of Somalia victims

The strikes over the weekend targetted two al Shabaab camps where the militants were hiding, General Samson Mwathethe, head of Kenya Defence Forces, said.

Al Shabaab, which is aligned with al Qaeda, said its fighters killed more than 100 Kenyan soldiers when they overrun the base in Ceel Cadde, near the Kenyan border, on Jan.15.

Mwathethe said they used vehicle-borne IEDs, which he noted have an impact as high as devices used in the August 7, 1998 attack on the US Embassy in Nairobi, that left more than 200 dead.

This has made them move so far to Somalia for Kenyans demand.

“Amisom did not have the necessary capability and capacity to assist our troops in El Adde so we were compelled to act and mobilise our own resources to assist in the situation”.

The Kenyan military said it was still searching for troops, though it would not comment on how many soldiers were unaccounted for.

Hundreds of residents fleeing from Kenyan air force bombing against Al shabaab controlled areas in Gedo province have reached at IDP camps in Garbaharey town, an official said.

“We also attacked two Al Shabaab camps, one in the morning and another in the afternoon where it was believed that Maalim Janow who led the attack in El Adde was killed”.

The Kenyan arm officially embarks on a search, rescue and recovery operation that sees injured soldiers and several bodies airlifted to Nairobi.

In a statement on Sunday, he had said that reports suggested some soldiers were being used as human shields.

The armed forces chief said that given the size of the explosion, DNA tests may be required for the identification of some of those who died.

Kenyan sent troops into Somalia to help the government battle al-Shabab in 2011.