Bomb kills KDF soldiers near Somali-Kenya border

The attack becomes the second of its kind targeting Kenyan forces in the vicinity of Dhobley district in Lower Juba region under Jubaland, which is regularly the scene of Al-Shabaab terrorist assaults.

News Keydmedia Online
12 January 2021

DHOBLEY, Somalia – At least seven Kenyan military officers were killed on Tuesday when their vehicle was targeted with a huge roadside bomb near the porous border by Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate.

The improvised explosive device (IED) explosion ripped through the convoy carrying Kenyan Defense Forces [KDF] while traveling the perilous road that connects Hisongow to the border town of Dhobley.

“The massive bomb buried beside the road struck the KDF convoy near the border and largely destroyed one of the military vehicles,” Capt. Mohamed Osman, a senior Somali army officer, told KON via phone.

The attack becomes the second of its kind targeting Kenyan forces in the vicinity of Dhobley district in Lower Juba region under Jubaland, which is regularly the scene of Al-Shabaab terrorist assaults.

There were no immediate comments on the incident from the Kenyan military. The use of homemade weapons against Somali and AU troops in the country is relatively common.

Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda’s East Africa branch, has been fighting for more than a decade to overthrow successive UN-backed Somali governments based in Mogadishu which is protected by 22,000 AU soldiers from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi and Djibouti. 

Since its troops invaded Somalia 2-11, Kenya has suffered the far-reaching effects of repeated attacks by Al-Shabaab, including Westgate shopping mall, Garissa University, and Dusit D2 hotel which claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

Tuesday’s bomb attack comes just 3 days before the 5th anniversary of the El-Adde base attack that left about 140 Kenyan soldiers dead, becoming the deadliest single assault against AU personnel in Somalia.

KON English News Desk