Kenya hits Somali al-Shabab camp after mall attack

‘Many more’ strikes against the al-Qaeda-affiliated group will be carried out by Kenyan military, says colonel

By AP 1 November 2013, 5:50 am

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A woman runs for cover during the siege of the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, last month. (photo credit: AP/Jonathan Kalan/File)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s military says its air force has attacked a militant training camp in Somalia in retaliation for last month’s al-Shabab assault on Nairobi’s Westgate mall.

Col. Cyrus Oguna said Thursday the militants who carried out the Westgate attack received training at the camp, which he said was 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Binswor, Somalia.

Oguna said the military won’t know how many of the 300 militants in the camp were killed or wounded until an assessment Friday. He said four military trucks were destroyed. Oguna said “many more” such attacks will be carried out.

The four-day siege of Westgate mall began September 21. The al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab said it carried out the attack, which killed at least 67 people, in retaliation for the Kenyan military’s push into Somalia in 2011.