Somalia
The Islamist militant group al Shabaab has killed nine Kenyan soldiers in Somalia, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Monday.
The president’s office offered no other details on the incident that led to the soldiers’ deaths.
“Earlier today, I was appalled and saddened to learn that we had lost nine young patriots to a cowardly terrorist attack in Somalia,” Kenyatta said in a statement.
A military source with knowledge of the incident said the soldiers had been killed by an improvised explosive device in Dobley on Sunday afternoon.
Al Shabaab is fighting to topple Somalia’s central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The group also conducts frequent assaults in Kenya, mostly in the region bordering Somalia, to put pressure on the Kenyan government to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from Somalia.
Kenya forms part of the African Union force AMISOM, which is defending Somalia’s government against al Shabaab.
REUTERS
Go to video
Bomb attack in northern Kenya kills 5 people near the border with Somalia
01:04
Kenya proposes treaty to ease Somalia-Ethiopia tensions
00:51
Moscow attack: Russia arrests more attack plotters
01:29
Kenya: Four people killed in blast near police station
01:09
Suspects in Moscow attack appear in court
Go to video
Loud explosion is heard as Somali militant group says its fighters have attacked a hotel in capital