By Andrew Wasike.
NAIROBI(AA) – The Kenyan military on Monday said that it had thwarted a terror attack and killed five al-Shabaab militants in the Boni forest in Kenya’s southeastern Garissa County.
In a statement, military spokesman Col. David Obonyo said Kenyan soldiers had been trailing the militants for some time and had laid an ambush for them in the forest early Monday.
“Today Kenya Defense Forces soldiers on Operation Boni duties killed 5 al-Shabaab terrorists and recovered six AK-47 rifles, 321 rounds of ammunition, four grenades and various explosive devices,” Obonyo said.
He added that it was in this same area that the Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated militants beheaded three people in August and four in September.
In August, the Kenyan military asked residents living in the area to vacate the Boni forest in preparation for heavy bombardment destined to wipe out al-Shabaab militants.
According to the Kenyan military, al-Shabaab militants have set up camps and used the Boni forest to infiltrate Kenya due to its close proximity to the porous Kenya-Somalia border.