KDF kill 73 Al Shabaab militants in Somalia

By Cyrus Ombati

Kenya Defence Forces killed 73 Al Shabaab militants in Fafadun, Somalia in a clash that left two soldiers dead.

The military said the incident happened after a group of the militants tried to attack a KDF camp on Wednesday.

Three other KDF soldiers were injured and have since been flown to Nairobi for specialized treatment.

KDF soldiers said they recovered 40 AK47 rifles and destroyed six lorries belonging to the militants.

Department of Defence headquarters in Nairobi said they were aware of the incident but referred us to the Amisom offices for further details.

“It is true more than 70 militants have been killed in a clash that also left two of our soldiers dead,” said one senior official at DOD.

This comes at a time when the long-planned assault on Somalia’s southern port town of Kismayu by the Kenya Defence Forces and their Amisom allies is probably only days away.

The African Union force, which also includes Kenyan and Burundian troops, is planning an onslaught on Somalia's second biggest city Kismayu, which is a hub for the Islamist militants, before August 20.

The KDF troops crossed to Somalia last October to hunt down the militants who are being blamed over several insecurity incidents in North Eastern and Coast provinces.

The Thursday killing of the militants is the highest since Kenyan troops crossed to Somalia.

The troops are planning a final assault on Kismayu to unseat the militants from the port, which serves as the main source of their revenue.