Kenyan Fighter Jets ‘Bomb al-Shabab’

{{Kenyan fighter jets have bombed the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group in Somalia, killing more than 80 of its fighters, the African Union (AU) force in Somalia has said.}}

The assault on the villages of Anole and Kuday was part of an effort to “liberate” Somalia from al-Shabab’s grip, the AU added.

Witnesses said a third area along the Kenya-Somalia border was also bombed.

Kenyan troops are part of the 22,000-strong AU force battling al-Shabab.

The militant group denied it had suffered casualties during the bombing campaign.

Last week, it said it was behind a deadly raid on the Kenyan coastal town of Mpeketoni, adding that such attacks were in response to the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia.

Kenyan warplanes bombed al-Shabab bases in the villages of Anole and Kuday in Somalia’s Lower Juba region, the AU force in Somalia said in a statement.

More than 50 insurgents were killed in Kuday and 30 in Anole as part of an on-going offensive to defeat al-Shabab, which had already lost control of 10 key towns, the statement said.

“Our forces will relentlessly keep up the pressure on al-Shabab and we will employ all the means at our disposal to end their reign of terror,” it added.

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