A Kenyan Air Force fighter jet.(file photo)
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Kenyan war planes have attacked a military base, run by Somalia’s al-Shabab fighters in Kismayo sea port, killing dozens of people, Press TV reports.
A Kenyan military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Press TV that, at least 31 militants and several civilians lost their lives by missiles fired by Kenyan warplanes on Tuesday afternoon.
Thousands of al-Shabab militants are getting ready for a retaliation attack, the official added.
Kismayo is a strategically important port city on Somalia's Indian Ocean coast located some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of capital, Mogadishu.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan forces, currently under the command of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), are also dealing with specific al-Shabab targets, but security has also been stepped up on the Kenyan side of the border.
Kenya regularly carries out airstrikes in the Somali border regions.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab for the past five years and is propped up by a thousand strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.