Monday, February 4, 2013
Nairobi, Kenya - Kenyan forces operating within the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have intensified their aerial strikes in Southern Somalia, vowing to stop the Al Shabaab militia from re-grouping in the Gedo region.
The Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) Spokesman, Col. Cyrus Oguna, said the latest airstrikes in the town of Garbaharey, in the Gedo region, targeted an Al Shabaab commander, believed to be behind a series of bomb attacks against civilian targets.
Al Shabaab's Buurdub Region Commander Sheikh Nuur Dhere, believed to have organised a series of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in the region, was killed.
The forces are operating in Sector II (Somalia), where they have vowed to continue with efforts to pursue Al Shabaab militants and disrupt any attempts by the militants to re-group.
The efforts to curtail the group's movements include a series of airstrikes and ground attacks in the last few days, Col. Oguna said in a statement over the weekend.
The first of the airstrikes by the KDF jets were launched on 31 January 2013, targeting an Al Shabaab logistic base in the area of Garbaharey.
'Initial reports from the ground confirmed that two technical vehicles and three trucks loaded with ammunition were destroyed. Several members of the militia groups perished with many others injured,' the KDF operations commander said.
The logistical base had been set up for planned Al Shabaab atrocities within the Gedo Region, KDF said.
The KDF and other local forces are currently conducting operations in the area to flush out the fleeing militia remnants.
'KDF will sustain the pressure against the militants until they are completely destroyed,' Col. Oguna said.