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Kenyan jets kill 10 in south Somalia air raid

Posted by on December 21, 2011

Kenyan fighter jet/File

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 21 – Kenyan fighter jets pounded rebel-held southern Somalia in a strike that Nairobi said Wednesday had killed Al Qaeda linked fighters but witnesses claimed caused several civilian deaths.

Military jets targeted several locations late Tuesday in Hosingow in the Lower Juba region, close to the Kenyan border, local elders said.

“There were at least three military planes that dropped bombs on Hosingow, and one hit a house killing civilians”, said Abdi Isak, a witness.

“There were 11 people, most of them civilians, killed in the raid.”

“One of the bombs struck near a street where people were running their businesses — they dropped bombs and went away without knowing who they have killed,” Ahmed Yusuf, another witness told AFP.

“More than ten have died and 13 others are injured, some of them seriously,” he added.

The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Wednesday claimed responsibility for the raid, saying it believed it had killed a senior Shebab commander it did not name.

“KDF carried out two air raids on an Al Shabaab camp close to the Kenyan border,”it said in a statment.

“It is believed a senior Al Shabaab commander, former Al Shabaab administrator and over 17 fighters died. The administrator’s family is likely to have been residing with the fighters,” it added.

Kenya has launched several bombing raids in the region since begining an offensive against the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels two months ago.

“We call on all peace-loving Somalis not to interact with members of Al-Shabaab as KDF intensifies the air attacks in South-Central Somalia,” it added.

The hardline insurgents, who control large parts of southern Somalia but are facing increasing pressure from regional armies and government forces, condemned the airstrikes.

“The cowardly enemy has targeted civilians in Hosingow and killed more than 10 innocent civilians after their military jets bombed houses,” regional Shabaab official Sheikh Abukar Ali said.

“They have targeted civilian areas and committed crimes, but we will not let them go with the innocent blood of our people they have spilt… They will regret this, the mujahideen fighters will avenge the attack,” he added.

The Horn of Africa country has been ravaged by a nearly uninterrupted civil war since the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre sparked vicious bloodletting by rival militias fighting for power.

Kenyan military officials vowed last week to carry out further air strikes deeper into rebel-held territory, claiming to have already killed several Shabaab fighters in earlier raids.




Author: AFP
AFP has written 1852 posts


  • charlie

    please get an F5 IMAGE THIS ONE HERE IS A HOAX LOOKS F16OR 15!

    • http://twitter.com/Surad1960 abdirisak ishak

      Alshabab are not conventional army stationed in known bases so who are you targeting when you apply aerial bombardment in the midst of civilian population? the accuracy of the old jets is also a factor to worry about when taking photos for planned operations. this is going to be taught in the history books in Somalia that KDF illegal invaded our country while we were under anarchy and took advantage of the waring functions and the weak TFG, it is going to be a black history and we will all remember the number of civilian casualties killed in air raids and the damage caused. i wish you would had attempted this back in the days when our army was the second most strongest army in Africa after SA Where were you those days? scared or busy disassembling our nation?

  • http://twitter.com/Surad1960 abdirisak ishak

    in the beginning of this incursion, i knew if KFD attempts to employ its old air fleet piloted by inexperienced air-force men that this will not achieve any good other than more and more collateral damage, enough is enough Kenya you proved your point that you are capable of killing civilians and that you can hit back if interrupted. i am sure that Somalia is not  the best pick when it comes to testing your army capabilities and gaining war experience as it is the only country in the world where young and old every individual is born to fire as a natural reflex to defend because these people had no other choices other than fighting when caught up in difficult circumstances, which is often the case.

    • Johnwanjuki

      ofcourse we all know that alshabab is not a convectional army , but it is also true that it is an armed group which cannot be handled by civil authorities . As a matter of  fact you dont have a way of telling whether the target in question was legitimate  or not  . in that respect i see you not offering  us any viable alternative for now and even in future . you dont sympathise with crooks my friend . certainly not unless otherwise ..

    • Nchemuya

      abdirisak ishak… we give you a home to live, to educate your children and then you protect the people who have made your country unlivable. this has nothing to do with somali’s – it’s a war against criminals.




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