Warplanes hit Al-Shabaab bases in southern Somalia

Fighter jets bombed an Al-Shabaab base in southern Somalia on Friday night, residents said, as neighbouring Kenya continues its offensive against the militants.

Kenya, which has carried out air strikes in the past, did not immediately acknowledge responsibility.

Its troops entered Somalia 2011 vowing to wipe out the Al-Shabaab rebel group it accuses of being behind attacks on tourists, aid workers and security forces on its soil.

“We heard sounds of the jets and then bombs. We understood later that they were targeting an Al-Shabaab base in El-Ade village in Gedo region,” A local resident El adde said.

“We don’t know the casualties as a result of the bombardment,” he said.

The move comes barely hours after Kenya security agents issued terror alert following reports that at least nine Kenyan terrorists who had joined Al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia could be headed back to the country to launch attacks.