Kenyan troops kill 14 Al Shabaab fighters

Nairobi, Kenya  (PANA) - Kenyan soldiers have killed 14 Al Shabaab fighters after the rebel force launched an attack on a Kenyan warship in the Indian Ocean.

Ten other Al Shabaab fighters were injured in the attack, the first major naval operation in recent months.

The Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF), which is part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) contingent, said the Kenyan Naval Ship engaged the militants at an Al Shabaab seaport watch station on Tuesday.

The incident occurred when a KDF Naval Ship was conducting routine sea patrol in the vicinity of the port of Kismayu.

“The militants opened fire at the ship prompting retaliatory naval gunship fire. During the engagement two on-shore structures were also destroyed,” the KDF said.

Elsewhere in Fafadun, Gedo region in Southern Somalia, 20 Al Shabaab militants with 13 AK 47 rifles surrendered to KDF.

“KDF’s objective in Somalia remains to degrade the Al Shabaab capacity and capability to a level that they will no longer be a threat to the Kenyan citizenry or the Somali public,” KDF said in a statement.

The military said part of the efforts to achieve the objective of neutralising the Al Shabaab has been regular patrols along the Indian Ocean by KDF Naval ships to safeguard the territorial waters against sea borne and land borne threats.
-0- PANA AO/VAO 30May2012