NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 19- There are plans for the release of a graphic video by Al-Shabaab militants showing execution of one of their prisoners of war.
The prisoner is according to sources in Somalia, one of those who were taken captive from the El Adde attack which took place on January 15, 2016.
The sources who spoke to Shahidi News said the terror group plans to release the video on July 20 to coincide with the Idd Ul Adha celebrations.
“This is aimed at making public to pile pressure on Kenyan authorities to prematurely pull out Kenya Defence Forces troops from Somalia. We know that,” a source aware of the issue said.
The said video is ready and is supposed to be released online to have an impact, the source who asked not to be named said.
The official added the move is part of a desperate attempt by the terror group which is losing ground to AMISOM troops deployed across Somalia.
“It is now resulting to propaganda that they hope will demotivate Kenyan forces in Somalia. The Jeysh Ayman gang has developed propaganda videos that they intend to release soon on social media platforms.”
The Idd-ul-Adha is used to mark the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslim faithful.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i declared Tuesday, July 20 as a public holiday in observance of Idd ul Adha.
On January 15, 2016 Al-Shabaab militants launched an attack on a Kenyan-run AMISOM army base in the town of El Adde, Gedo, Somalia.
Al Shabaab claimed to have captured 12 Kenyan soldiers, including the commanding officer.
A UN-affiliated monitoring group said in March 2021 it had information concerning the changing whereabouts and status of the captives, which it has shared with the Kenyan authorities through an intermediary.
The group noted that Somalia troops were aware of increased terrorist movement in the area in the days leading to the attack.
The attackers used powerful car bombs to breach the Kenyan soldiers’ camp.
The trucks’ blast was powerful that they completely obliterated everything within a 50-meter radius. Before the assailants arrived with rifles, the explosion burned fuel tankers and detonated bombs in the camp.
In 2020, Khalif Abdinoor Mohamed a member of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group who claimed to have participated in the attack surrendered to Kenyan authorities.
The group in May 2021 released a propaganda video with a prisoner of war in it and talking on Kenyan affairs.
Kenyan troops are in Somalia since 2011 to contain the spread of the terror gang. The troops under Amisom have liberated several places that were initially under the terror group.
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