Four Al-Shabaab fighters killed in Kenya

Four suspected Al-Shabaab have been killed by Kenyan Defense Force (KDF) on Friday, Kenyan army spokesman said.

Lt. Col. Paul Njuguna says other extremists escaped Friday’s firefight in the Hulugho area of eastern Kenya.

“The KDF soldiers pursued them following information of an intended probe attack. Following the incident, four Al-Shabaab fighters were killed,” Njuguna said.

Since Kenya deployed troops in Somalia to counter-attack the militants in 2011, the group has carried out a series of deadly attacks on the neighboring country.

In January, Kenyan troops as part of the AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM) took heavy losses when Al-Shabaab launched a dawn raid on their camp in El Adde near the Kenyan border. No exact casualty figure has been given.

Al-Shabaab said more than 100 soldiers were killed.

Somalia’s government is battling to rebuild the Horn of Africa nation after more than two decades of conflict.

Al-Shabaab ruled large parts of Somalia until 2011, when it was driven out of Mogadishu by African Union (AU) and Somali troops.

The militants, who aim to topple the Western-backed government, often inflate casualty numbers and downplay the number of their own fighters killed.