Kenyan Forces Kill 11 Suspected Al-Shabaab Militants in Border Raid

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan security forces killed at least 11 suspected Al-Shabaab militants during an intelligence-led operation near the Kenya-Somalia border on Sunday, police said.

The operation was carried out by the elite Special Operations Group with aerial support after intelligence indicated that about 30 suspected militants had gathered at a makeshift camp in Mandera County to plan an attack on villages along the border, according to security officials.

Police said 11 suspected militants were killed and seven others were seriously wounded. The remaining fighters fled across the border into Somalia.

Security forces recovered three PKM machine guns, about 409 rounds of ammunition, and several documents believed to belong to Al-Shabaab. Among the documents were what authorities described as receipts for mandatory religious taxes allegedly collected by the militant group.

Officials said the records could provide valuable intelligence into how Al-Shabaab finances its operations and administers areas under its control through taxation and checkpoint collections.

The operation was aimed at disrupting the planned attack before it could be carried out and preventing another cross-border assault in Kenya's northeastern region, police said.

The raid is part of an intensified campaign by Kenyan security agencies targeting militant networks operating along the porous Kenya-Somalia border, where authorities have stepped up intelligence-led operations to prevent attacks.

The operation came days after police arrested a suspect at the Kina Vehicle Checkpoint in Isiolo County who is believed to be linked to an illegal firearms and ammunition trafficking network spanning the counties of Tana River, Isiolo, Meru, and Garissa.

Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group based in Somalia, has carried out numerous attacks in Kenya over the past decade, particularly in areas near the shared border. The group has not commented on Sunday's operation, and the casualty figures could not be independently verified.

GAROWE ONLINE