Kenyan Police Kill 20 Al-Shabaab Militants in Mandera

On Thursday, the Kenya Police announced that they had successfully eliminated 20 Al-Shabaab militants in Ogorwein, Mandera North Constituency.

According to the Special Operation Group, the police unit was initially ambushed by the Al-Shabaab militants. In response, they launched a strong counterattack to neutralize the threat.

The Kenya Police reported the recovery of various weapons, including a sub-machine gun and an RPG, at the scene.

In a tweet, the Kenya Police Service praised the efforts of the special officers involved in combating Al-Shabaab. This achievement is considered a sbreakthrough following a series of recent attacks by the militant group on security forces.

The National Police Service issued a statement on Twitter, stating, “Police in Mandera are investigating a suspected Al-Shabaab terrorist attack following an ambush on our Special Operations Group (SOG) team on July 5, 2023, at Ogorwen Location within Mandera County.”

“Preliminary investigations indicate that during the intense exchange of gunfire between the officers on patrol and the militants, twenty militants were fatally injured, while eight NPS officers sustained injuries. Additionally, assorted weapons were recovered from the scene,” added the NPS.

In a separate incident, the Kenya Defence Forces conducted airstrikes on El Adde Town in the Gedo region of Southern Somalia overnight on Wednesday and Thursday morning. Unfortunately, these strikes resulted in the deaths of two civilians and several others sustaining injuries.

These events occurred just a day after the Kenyan Minister of Interior visited the Northeastern Region in an effort to mobilize the security forces and establish a partnership between the government and local communities to combat Al-Shabaab.

In recent months, Al-Shabaab has carried out multiple attacks on local communities, resulting in the deaths of numerous civilians and security forces in Northeastern counties and Lamu County. They have also employed the use of landmines on roads as part of their strategy.