BritishThomas Evans Believed Killed in Kenya

The Briton is believed to be among a group of militants who launched a pre-dawn raid Sunday on a Kenyan army base in Baure, close to the border with Somalia, AFP reported.

Two Kenyan soldiers were killed and at least 15 Shebab fighters died in the shootout, among them two “Caucasians”, according to Kenyan defense officials.

“All the available data, including photographs, points to it being Thomas Evans. There is an investigation going on with forensics and DNA to confirm his identity,” said Kenya Defense Forces spokesman Colonel David Obonyo.

If confirmed, Evans’ death will be the first reported case of a British militant killed on Kenyan soil.

Evans was in his mid-20s and was also known as Abdul Hakim. His family lives in Buckinghamshire in Southern England. In 2011 he reportedly traveled to Somalia to join Shebab.

The British embassy in Nairobi said it was “seeking to confirm reports” that a Briton had been killed.

Kenya’s interior ministry posted a notice on its official Twitter account showing side-by-side photographs of Evans and a dead militant who resembled him, under the banner, “Thomas Evans aka Abdul Hakim Killed. Kenya Stands Strong!”

In a separate attack, also on Sunday, dozens of Shebab gunmen briefly took over a village in Lamu county. Kenyan officials said a major security operation was underway on Monday to pursue both groups of attackers.

The raids came on the anniversary of attacks that began in mid-June 2014 in which close to 100 people were killed in a series of armed assaults on the town of Mpeketoni and surrounding villages.

AFP