Al-Shabaab launches bomb and gun attack on KDF base

The ambush attack began with heavy explosions, followed by gunfire after a fierce gunfight broke out between Kenyan defense forces [KDF] stationed in the camp and the Al-Shabaab fighters.

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Al-Shabaab launches bomb and gun attack on KDF base

EL-WAK, Somalia – The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab militant group has launched an overnight major attack on a Kenyan military base in the El-Wak border district in the Gedo region, residents said.

The ambush attack began with heavy explosions, followed by gunfire after a fierce gunfight broke out between Kenyan defense forces [KDF] stationed in the camp and the Al-Shabaab fighters.

According to the local residents, the militants have managed to enter the base after overpowering the KDF and retreated back minutes later after Kenyan troops from the border arrived as reinforcements.

“The fighting was heavy and the sound of the artillery and bomb explosions used during the battle could be heard long distances from the town,” said a villager who asked not to be named for security reasons.

Both sides have suffered heavy casualties but the exact number of the fatalities has not yet been established. The officials in the Gedo region did not respond immediately to a KON request for comment.

Kenyan troops operating under the AU mission in Somalia have faced deadly attacks on their bases in Gedo and Middle Juba regions since their incursion into the country in 2011.

The latest attack in El-Wak comes as the African Union troops along the Somali army have been carrying out operations in the past few weeks to stave off the Al-Shabaab Ramadan offensive.

KEYDMEDIA English 

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