MOGADISHU – Somali armed group al Shabab has carried out an attack on Kenyan defense forces under African Union mission known ‘AMISOM’ base near Kismayo, a town lies some 500km south of Mogadishu.
The triggered heavy fighting after militants armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled-grenades launched an attack on army base manned by Kenyan forces in Birolle area near the coastal town of Kismayo.
The Kenyan forces reportedly warded off the attack carried out by al Shabaab, according to a local resident, who asked to be anonymous.
He says the group also fired several rockets at the Kenyan army base.
It is unclear how many from both sides were killed.
Meanwhile, the group also claimed to have carried out a bomb attack on military vehicle in the area of Golol junction of Kismayo town.
The group says its fighters launched an ambush attack on military base in Yontow near Kismayo town, after the bomb explosion, causing untold casualties.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab militants continue to hold small rural areas in central and southern Somalia.
The group wants to overthrow the weak UN-backed government in Somalia and impose its own strict interpretation of Islamic law.
It has lost control of many towns and cities to a 22,000-strong African Union force supporting the government.
