Kenyan, Somali forces kill 30 Al Shabaab terrorists in joint operation

Nairobi: At least 30 Al Shabaab militants were killed by joint Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and Somalia National Army (SNA) near the Kenyan border on Saturday, Kenya’s military officials said. The Somali and Kenyan soldiers attacked the militants’ hideout in Kolbio in southern Somalia, Xinhua quoted Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir as saying. [caption id=“attachment_1208899” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Al Shabaab terrorists killed several people in a Nairobi mall recently. AP[/caption] “Somali National Army killed over 30 Al Shabaab militants in Kolbio, close to Kenya border,” Chirchir tweeted, adding that seven AK-47 were recovered from the hideout. “The raid was part of AMISOM operational plan for sustained offensive operations against Al Shabaab,” he said. The latest onslaught comes after KDF confirmed Thursday that they had destroyed a training camp used by members of Al Shabaab who attacked an upscale shopping mall in Kenya’s capital Nairobi Sep 21. KDF spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna said the camp, located about 50 km east of Binswor in southern Somalia, was the main target because most of the militants who attacked the Westgate mall in Nairobi received training at the camp. “It was not possible to verify how many militants who were killed during the attack in Binswor on Thursday since the area was sealed off. What I can confirm is that four technicals (military trucks) were destroyed,” Oguna said. The attack at the Westgate shopping mall left at least 70 people dead. Forensic experts are still carrying out investigations to establish those behind the attack. Sources said more than 300 Al Qaeda allied terror group’s recruits were at the camp at the time of the attack and that many of them are believed to have been killed. IANS