Somali defense minister condemns Al shabaab attack on KDF base

“According to reports coming in, militants of the Al-Shabaab radical group attacked the AMISOM military contingent’s base in the south of Somalia”.

Dozens of Kenyan and Somali troops are feared dead after suspected Al-Shabaab militants overran a military camp during an ongoing gun-and-bomb attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Kenyan military said Friday.

The Shebab frequently exaggerates the number of troops they kill, while AMISOM rarely gives exact tolls.

Fighting is still going on inside the base.

The number of casualties remains unconfirmed, but journalists in Mogadishu reported that Al-Shabab claimed to have killed 63 Kenyan soldiers and seized a number of military vehicles. In June, 54 Burundians were killed in an attack on their base in Leegoand in September 19 Ugandan troops died when their base in Jannaale was attacked. He said militants attacked a nearby Somali base and Kenyan troops were helping stage a counter-attack.

“Attacks such as this further demonstrate the vile nature of Al Shabaab, whose sole goal is to spread terror and continue the destabilization of Somalia”.

Residents have said that insurgents had paraded bodies through the town.

“We have counted 63 dead bodies inside the base”, Musab added.

Local elder Hussein Adam said he heard a huge explosion followed by intense gunfire for about 45 minutes.

Al-Shabab has waged an insurgency in Somalia since 2006 to impose its version of Islamic law.

However, al-Shabab claimed it had captured the base after an hour of fighting.

The group, which has ties with al-Qaida, has also carried out many deadly attacks in Kenya. Kenya’s Defence Ministry said both sides suffered casualties but said numbers were not confirmed.

He was taken into custody by Somali authorities on December 7 while he was attempting to procure a boat to depart for Yemen, authorities said.