Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers undertaking a security operation in Lamu’s Boni forest have killed four Al-Shabaab militants at Sarira area, near the border with Somalia.
This was confirmed by the army, which said the terrorists were killed at around 7:30 am on Saturday as they tried to cross the border into Kenya. Several other Al-Shabaab militants escaped to Somalia with multiple injuries, KDF said.
No injuries were recorded on the army side, it added.
Following the Saturday incident, security has been beefed up within Lamu, especially in areas bordering Boni Forest.
“KDF troops will continue, along with other security agencies and support from local residents, to pacify the area in a bid to get rid of Al-Shabaab terrorists,” KDF said in a statement to the Nation.
The incident comes just two weeks after one person was injured while six others escaped unhurt when a vehicle they were travelling in was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) between Milimani and Baure in Lamu County.
The incident occurred on February 12 at around when a vehicle with a team of supervisors from the Lamu Port (Lapsset) Spur Road project encountered the IED in an ambush along the Milimani-Baure road.
The incident also comes just a month after several Judiciary staff were injured when their vehicle was sprayed with bullets by suspected Al-Shabaab militants at Lango la Simba, near Nyongoro, along the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road. The incident occurred on January 26 at around 5pm. The vehicle was headed to Garsen town from Kipini Mobile Court.
On January 23 this year, attackers burnt eight construction vehicles and other equipment belonging to the China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) at Kwa Omollo Bridge near Bodhei inside Boni Forest.
The equipment, including tippers, rollers, and excavators, were being used in the construction of the Sh17. 9 billion Lapsset Corridor Project access road.
On September 2015, the national government launched a major multi-agency security operation with the key objective being to flush out Al-Shabaab militants hiding within the dense Boni Forest.
“We’re happy to hear that our enemies have been killed today. That’s proof enough that the ongoing multi-agency security operation in Boni Forest is successful. We will cooperate with our security agencies in ensuring the war on terror is won,” said Ali Abdi, a resident of Boni Forest.
