Kenya Defense Forces came under mortar and artillery attack from resurgent Al-Shabaab troops in their base in Hosingow town in Lower Juba Somalia.
Heavy artillerly fired from Al-Shabaab positions was neutralized and machine gun posts on mounted vehicles used by Al-Shabaab were destroyed by KDF.
52 Al-Shabaab troops were killed while 2-Kenyan soldiers and 3-TFG troops were killed though the intelligence report on KDF causalities is yet to be confirmed.
Ras-Kamboni militia backed by TFG and KDF fought with Al-Shabaab for about 4-hours in what could be a turning point to KDF which feels uncomfortable in AMISOM rules.
According to intelligence reports, KDF feels threatened and its gains might be lost along under AMISOM since they cannot operate based on the previous engagement principals.
4-hours of battle with a militia is very disturbing owing to the fact KDF has superior and more sophisticated firepower against the Al-Shabaab and such a development is a sign of flaws in the AMISOM setup.
Al-Shabaab had claimed to have shot down a KDF fighter plane and took over Hosingow but the reports were denied by TFG spokesperson Mohamed Dahir Farah, who confirmed Hosingow was under KDF/TFG/Ras-Kamboni militia and that 52-Al-Shabaab were killed in the fierce fight.
