Afmadow — The militant group of Al-Shabaab on Friday fired a salvo of mortars at a main military base housing Jubaland regional forces, an official said.
Confirming the attack, Jubaland state army spokesperson said the mortar attack didn’t inflict casualties on the soldiers stationed in the base camp in Afmadow Town.
A resident has told Radio Shabelle by phone that some of the mortars landed inside the military base while others hit outside and couldn’t confirm the losses.
Afmadow lies in the volatile Lower Jubba region near Somalia’s porous border with Kenya, where Al-Shabaab often carries out hit and rub attacks.
It’s located 620 kilometers South of Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
Al-Shabab stepped up attacks in Jubaland recently in an attempt to disrupt planned military offensive by SNA and regional troops to reclaim the areas remained under the militants’ control.
Kenya has an estimated 4,000 soldiers in Jubaland state who are part part of AU troops mandated by UN security Council to help weak Somali government in the fight against Al-Shabaab and protect VIPs.
Kenyan defence forces (KDF) crossed into Somalia in-mid 2011 in a risky attempt to secure the border with the anarchic country and end a wave of kidnappings that have hit Kenya’s reputation among tourists and investors.
The KDF joined AU mission in 2012 and have been assigned with the operation in Jubaland against Al-Shabab, which poses potent threat to Kenya.
