Al-Shabaab Ambush on KDF in Lamu Repulsed

Highlight

• Al-Shabaab terrorists ambush KDF at Basuba area of Lamu, where their assault is promptly repulsed leaving 3 terrorists dead and 5 KDF troops injured, 2 of them suffering critical injuries.

Ambush at Basuba

On 29^th July 2015, Al-Shabaab terrorists emplaced in Basuba area of Lamu County used an IED to disable a Kenyan military vehicle in a surprise attack which saw a subsequent assault wave of the terrorists ambushing KDF troops in the area. KDF counterattacked and the ensuing firefight led to the death of 3 terrorists while KDF suffered 5 injured, 2 of them critically. The injured soldiers were airlifted for prompt medical attention in Nairobi. Some terrorists escaped with injuries but none was apprehended.

Analysis

The ambush at Basuba reveals two important facts. First of all, Al-Shabaab is still able to cross the Kenya-Somalia border and set up camps and outposts in Lamu thus showcasing that Kenya’s border defenses are still permeable thereby necessitating the need for greater attention to be paid to better border defenses. Secondly, the attack shows that KDF convoys are still vulnerable to Al-Shabaab ambush within Kenya, thus revealing the existence of local support cells in Lamu which feed the terrorists with information regarding KDF troop movements in the area. The above mentioned two facts reveal glaring intelligence failures on the part of the Kenyan security services.

Projection

Al-Shabaab is still able to conduct infiltration and ex-filtration missions in Lamu, and this poses a direct mortal security threat to Kenyans living in the area besides stifling economic development of the region.

This update and analysis was created by Avraham ben Adam