- The expansive forest has complicated the operation that has been running for close to ten years now
- Some locals are said to be embracing the terrorists which is complicating the operation amid campaigns to stop the trend
Image: THE STAR
Two suspected Al-Shabaab militants were Sunday killed in an ongoing operation in Boni Forest, Lamu County.
The two were killed in the Sarira area within the expansive forest and guns found on them.
Kenya army troops that clashed with the two said they were in a group of four and that two others escaped.
The area has been under operation for years as Kenya seeks to remove the terrorists and their remnants from the region.
Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia said the hunt for the others who escaped is ongoing.
Two weeks ago, two other suspects were killed in the Baure area.
The gang killed five workers at a construction site in Bodhei area on March 11. They also burnt down two lorries involved in the construction of the Lapset project in the area.
The terrorists have been attacking Kenyan troops, killing and injuring others in a series. They have also been targeting what is believed to be non-locals in the trend.
The government has blamed ethnic profiling that is linked to political inclinations around elections, the looming voter registration drive and land disputes as to the primary causes of the latest attacks.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which has been under attack by terrorists in the past.
Officials said the terrorists are exploiting the low-cost strategy and deploying it near forwarding operating bases or main supply routes to attack their targets.
This is happening both locally, especially in the northern part of the country, and in Somalia.
KDF troops are among those under Amisom that are operating in Somalia. They aim to suppress al-Shabaab activities in the region.
KDF went to Somalia in October 2011. Kenya's incursion into southern Somalia started after the kidnapping of two Spanish women who were working for MSF at the Dadaab refugee camp
The abductions were carried out by the militants, who the troops planned to push away under Operation Linda Nchi. Two years later, the troops managed to take control of Kismayo port under Operation Sledge Hammer.
The government saw the attacks as a threat to the country’s sovereignty as it targeted tourism, which is an economic lifeline.