More bodies collected by KDF special forces, toll expected to rise

Nairobi, Kenya: The death toll following the attack on Kenya Defence Forces in El-Adde in Somalia increased as the search and recovery mission intensified.

More bodies of the KDF soldiers were expected in Nairobi yesterday with officials saying they had up to 60 of them. Forty bodies were collected from the scene on Tuesday and yesterday and were expected to be flown to Nairobi later in the day.

They were preserved at the Forces Memorial Mortuary where relatives and friends have been visiting to identify them further. Most of the bodies had tags bearing the names of the deceased.

"Some have serious burns and injuries and because there was no proper preservation from the beginning, they are in bad shape," said a relative who had gone to search for a missing soldier.

The search and recovery mission was slowed down after the special teams conducting the exercise realised some of the bodies had jacket-laden explosives that proved dangerous to handle.

Witnesses said at least nine KDF planes landed in El-Adde on Tuesday for the collection exercise and flew out with some of them to Nairobi.

Eleven other soldiers who were found alive were also flown to the city. They had apparently been shielded by locals in El-Adde area after escaping the attack, sources said.

This increased the number of survivors so far to more than 40.

The military kept mum on the issue saying they will release an official statement later. The statement will detail the planned ceremonies to honour the dead soldiers.

"Just be patient on this. We will talk about the death toll and other preparations on the fallen heroes," said military spokesman Col David Obonyo.

Top military brass was in meetings in Nairobi planning how the funerals of the affected soldiers would be conducted.

They had on Tuesday met president Kenyatta in Mombasa and briefed him on the progress made so far since the Friday morning incident happened.

In Nairobi a group plans to hold a vigil today at the Freedom Corner in honour of the fallen soldiers.

Organiser of the event Bonny Mwangi told those to attend the event from 5 pm to bring a candle and flower.

"That is the best thing you can give a soldier who has died in war. Let the military and even government officials attend by bringing flowers and candles as a sign of vigil for our defenders," said Mwangi.

Pictures purported to have been taken by the terrorists emerged showing the devastation that meted the camp after the attack. They showed a huge billowing fire and destroyed KDF vehicles.

The attackers used Vehicle Borne Improvised Devices (VBIED) an indication they had planned the raid for long and exploited a tactical weakness during rotation of forces to exact the carnage.

The military is yet to state the exact number of soldiers so far unaccounted for amid anxiety from the kin and friends of those missing.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychael Omamo had however confirmed the officers involved were a company.

"The soldiers affected by the attack are a company size force," said Ms Omamo. She did not reveal if they are dead, missing or injured.

In the military, a company is a unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain.

In this case, there was a major in charge of the camp and his deputy, a captain whose whereabouts are yet to be known.

The Chief of Defence Forces Gen Samson Mwathethe said some of the soldiers are being held by the Al-Shabaab militants and being used as human shields.

But other sources said about a dozen soldiers are being held by the militants as prisoners of war.

The terrorists used three vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED) with more than 500 kilogrames of materials each to strike before being followed with suicide bombers.

They apparently arrived in three such vehicles with one targeting a Somali National Army base while two went to the KDF one.

They ran past two main roadblocks before they stopped inside the camp where there were other explosives.

Therein, they were detonated before the suicide bombers went on with their mission setting the camp on fire.

Those who cannot reach their kin continued to troop and call help centres opened for information. The call centres are open 24 hours.