Kenyan troops seize al-Shabaab base in Somalia

By Andrew Ross

NAIROBI, Kenya

Kenyan soldiers killed 15 al-Shabaab fighters in a raid to capture a base 180 kilometers (112 miles) inside Somalia.

The assault on Yantooy, a town on the Jubba River, was aimed at disrupting militant supply lines from their headquarters at Jilib. Yantooy has been used as a staging point for cross-border attacks on Kenya.

“The attack happened early in the morning and we have no casualties from our side,” army spokesman Col. David Obonyo told Anadolu Agency.

“We managed to kill 15 al-Shabaab militants and captured Yantooy, which the militants were using as a base. The capturing of the base is vital for our operation to facilitate the easy capture of Jilib, which is currently the remaining al-Shabaab headquarters in the lower Shebelle.”

Two boats were also destroyed.

Obonyo said the attack was part of Operation Jubba Corridor, the ultimate goal of which is to capture Jilib.

Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 following a spate of cross-border kidnappings of foreign tourists and aid workers. Al-Shabaab has vowed to carry out more attacks on Kenya’s soil unless it recalls its troops.

In April, the group killed 148 in an offensive on Garissa University, in the bloodiest attack by the group on Kenyan soil.