KDF intercepts car with explosives, kills five occupants

MOYALE: The Kenya Defence Forces have intercepted a four-wheel drive car with Kenyan registration numbers laden with explosives at the Kenya-Ethiopia border and killed five occupants.

The personnel under Amisom together with the Somali National Army shot and killed the five occupants of the Toyota Prado car in the Saturday morning incident.

Department of Defence spokesman Bogita Ongeri said the vehicle also had six suicide vests and 100 kilograms of TNT, which is used to make bombs.

He added the incident happened as the occupants of the vehicle tried to cross to Kenya at Dolo in Moyale.

“The occupants opened fire on the security forces who responded killing five Al Shabaab operatives,” said part of a statement sent to newsrooms.

Bogita said the same occupants had earlier on tried to gain entry into Kenya from Somalia at Bulahawa through Mandera and that security forces were working on reliable intelligence which enabled them to trace and track the car.

Experts said had the car managed to cross to Kenya it could have caused much damage and deaths.

It is not clear where the occupants planned to attack. There have been threats of terror attacks in the country amid calls for vigilance.

The troops have been launching attacks on the militants in the past weeks killing close to 100 and recovered vehicles and arms.

A week ago at least 60 members of Somalia’s Al-Shabaab militants were killed in an operation by KDF in Bula Gaduud area, Somalia.

KDF said they recovered several bullets and guns and five four wheel drive vehicles from the slain men.

"The militants were regrouping to approach our strongholds when they were crashed. We counted 60 bodies and recovered five vehicles with many bullets," said Col Obonyo.

Other reports suggested the KDF and SNA personnel were in Bula Gadud ahead of a planned assault on Jilib that is one of the towns occupied by the militants.

This has sent the militants scattered. Some of them have however managed to come to Kenya where they kidnapped five miraa transporters and crossed with them with their two vehicles.

The militants lost control of Barawe two weeks ago.

The loss of Barawe - after six years under their control - comes a month after al-Shabab's leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed by a US air strike near the town.

The group, which is estimated to have at least 5,000 fighters, wants to overthrow the UN-backed Somali government and has imposed a strict version of Sharia in areas under its control.

KDF moved to Somalia in 2011 to hunt down the militants who have been blamed for several insecurity related incidents. The troops under Amisom have managed to liberate a number of towns since then.