Monday, October 20, 2014
Five suspected al Shabaab militants were on Saturday killed by Kenya Defence Force soldiers on the Kenya-Ethiopia border while attempting to drive an explosives-laden vehicle into the country.
KDF troops operating under Amisom and their Somali National Army counterparts manning the area reported that they intercepted a Toyota Prado car with Kenya registration numbers at Dolo, but the occupants defied an order to stop and instead shot at them.
KDF soldiers shot back and killed five of the militants.
An improvised explosive device and six suicide vests were recovered.
KDF soldiers, who were working on intelligence reports, had traced the car and its occupants before intercepting them.
The suspects had earlier attempted to cross into the country through Mandera’s Bulahawa, but failed.
They then drove through Dolo before proceeding to a yet-to-be-known destination.
“Earlier on, the terrorists had unsuccessfully attempted to gain entry into the country at Bulahawa,” an assistant director of communications at Defence headquarters said yesterday.
The KDF soldiers have been in Somalia since 2012 and have taken over key towns form al Shabaab, the most recent being Barawe.