Kenyan Security Forces Kill 20 Suspected alShabaab Militants In Mandera, Recover Weapons

MANDERA Kenya July 5 -Police killed at least 20 al Shabaab militants in a clash in Mandera on Wednesday July 5 evening.

The National Police Service (NPS) spokesperson Dr Resla Onyango while confirming the incident said the terrorists had ambushed Special Operations Group (SOG) team at Ogorwen Location within Mandera County prompting the deadly exchange.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the resulting heavy gunfire exchange between the officers, who were on patrol, and the militants, left twenty militants fatally injured and eight NPS officers injured. Police also recovered assorted weapons from the scene of crime,” said Dr Onyango.

The officers were pursuing the gang when they were attacked with a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) prompting the clash.

A sub-machine gun and an RPG were among items recovered at the scene, according to Dr Onyango. 

The bodies of the terrorists were later processed for burial.

Kenyan security agencies have ramped up their war against al Shabaab militants operating near the main border.

This came as Kenyan security ramped up operations against the terror group around the border to push out terror cells operating there.

The recent attacks have forced the government to suspend plans to reopen the Kenya-Somalia border.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said this follows an increase of terror related attacks along the Kenya-Somalia border in the past month that have claimed more than 30 lives most of them being security officers.

“The Government will delay the planned reopening of Kenya-Somalia border points until we conclusively deal with the recent spate of terror attacks and cross-border crime,” the CS said.

“We have postponed the plans to reopen the main borders in Mandera, Wajir, here Liboi and Kiunga due to the increased attacks by the terrorists in the past months. We will deal with them first then continue with the plans,” he added.

Kindiki made the remarks at the Dadaab refugee camp on Wednesday while on the ongoing tour of the northern region to address terror related attacks.

The CS further said the government had launched an operation targeting the terror cells in the area. The operation is also aimed at providing round the clock security to contractors and engineers working on key infrastructure projects in North Eastern Kenya and insulate them from criminal elements and extremists keen on sabotaging their operations.

The terrorists have been attacking places near the Kenyan border by using guns and explosives leaving dozens dead and many injured.

The gang behind the attacks cross from Somalia and launch them amid a campaign to address the issue. Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.

Kenyan troops are in Somalia under African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to help in fighting the al-Shabaab terror group. The KDF went to Somalia in October 2011.