Somalia: Al Shabaab “captured” Kenyan troops

An injured Kenya Defence Force soldier is stretched into an ambulance to be transfered to the hospital after arriving in Nairobi, on January 17, 2016, a day after an attack by the Al-Qaeda-linked militants on an African Union base (AMISOM) in southwest Somalia.

The extremist group however did not give figures but claim to have killed more than 100 Kenyan soldiers early Friday. “As I have indicated to you previously, search, rescue and recovery operations are ongoing, and consequently we expect to receive more of our soldiers in the coming days”.

On Friday, al-Shabaab militants stormed an African Union (AU) base, killing dozens of KDF soldiers.

The alleged voices of two of the captured soldiers were reportedly broadcast on an al Shabaab radio network on Sunday morning. The AU peacekeepers, made up of primarily Kenyan troops at the base, launched a counter attack.

They four caskets were received in an elaborate military parade that was attended by the Cabinet Secretary for Defense Raychelle Omamo, Chief of Defense Forces General Samson Mwathethe, The Kenya Air Force Commander Maj Gen Samuel Thuita and other top military officials. The attackers used vehicles packed with explosives and suicide bombers. In the U.S. military, a company has 100 to 200 soldiers, according to the U.S. Army’s website. “We have all together contributed vitally to global peace and security”, he added.

“Full details of those injured and killed will be made public after families affected are notified”, Omamo said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has repeatedly said he would not be coerced into withdrawing Kenyan forces from Somalia, saying the troops are protecting Kenya.

“Following Friday’s raid on a Kenyan base in the town of El-Adde, Gedo region, the death toll of the Kenyan crusaders massacred in the base has risen to 100 as confirmed by the Mujahideen’s military department”, the statement said.