CAPE TOWN - A platoon from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) killed three and injured several al-Shabaab terrorists who attacked soldiers from the Jubaland Security Forces (JSF) in Somalia on Saturday, the mission said in a statement.
Twenty al-Shabaab terrorists attacked JSF soldiers who were stationed in Bilis Qooqaani, close to Somalia’s southern border with Kenya.
The terrorists attacked from multiple directions at roughly 12.30am on Saturday, wounding two JSF soldiers. The soldiers are receiving treatment at AMISOM's forward operating base (FOB), according to AMISOM’s Sector 2 commander Brigadier Paul Njema.
“Our Bilis Qooqaani defence points immediately responded by dispatching one platoon to support our Somali counterparts. Three al-Shabaab militants were killed and several others wounded during the attack, which was successfully repelled,” Njema said.
AMISOM managed to recover AK-47 rifles and ammunition from the terrorists after neutralising the threat.
Njema’s Sector 2 is based in Dhobley, a border town between Kenya and Somalia which is manned by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
AMISOM reports that KDF has numerous bases in 10 other towns.
Special representative of the chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia and head of AMISOM, ambassador Francisco Madeira, praised AMISOM Kenyan forces for their bravery in “yet another victory against al-Shabaab”, reported AMISOM.
Al-Shabaab, which means "the Youth" in Arabic, gained notoriety as an extremist youth wing to the now non-existent Union of Islamic Courts, which advocates for a Saudi-inspired Wahhabi derivative of Islam, according to the BBC.
- African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher