Kenyan military says it has killed Al Shabab intelligence commander
Kenya鈥檚 military says it has killed the deputy commander and intelligence chief for Somalia's Al Shabab聽jihadist terror group, a man blamed for masterminding a deadly attack on a Kenyan military camp in southern Somalia last month, officials said on Thursday.
The officials said they killed Mohamed Karatey, also known as Mahad Karate, alongside 10 other Al Shabab聽commanders, in a major strike, at a graduation ceremony for about 80 recruits of Amniyat, the intelligence wing of Al Shabab.
Later on Thursday, Al Shabab denied that Karatey in the assault, the BBC reported.
Last April, the US State Department designated Karatey聽a terrorist, and offered a $5 million reward for information that would bring him "to justice," saying that he was the mastermind in the Amniyat, which was responsible for the April 2015 attack on Kenya's Garissa University College, in which 147 people died,
The Alamnyat is made up of suicide bombers, assassins, explosives experts and information gatherers, according to Kenyan officials.
鈥淥perations against the Al Shabab聽terrorists will continue until justice is done,鈥� .
The killing comes a few weeks after the Kenyan military forces withdrew from two towns in southern Somalia, following the January 15 attack in the southwest Somali region of El Adde聽which Al Shabab聽took credit for, claiming to have killed 100 Kenyan soldiers. 聽
鈥淭he alleged death of Mahad Karate will be an operational blow for Al Shabab聽given the important role he played in orchestrating attacks in Somalia and neighboring Kenya,鈥� Ryan Cummings, director of intelligence at risk-management consultancy Signal Risk tells 海角大神 in an email.
鈥淎l Shabab聽has and continues to demonstrate its resilience and deadliness despite losing key figures to counter-terrorism operations employed by the Somalia National Army (SNA), AMISOM and their regional alliance partners,鈥� he said alluding to the 2014 raid which killed Al Shabab鈥檚 former leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, and the killing of Abdi Dek, the operation commander of the Abu Zubeir Brigade that carried out the attack in El Adde.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), established a decade ago, has made serious dents in Al Shabab's capabilities, and forced the militants out of its strongholds, including the capital Mogadishu, but the group has retaliated with relentless attacks in Somalia and Kenya.
Despite the blows, analysts suspect that the killing might prompt yet another retaliation from the jihadist group. Al Shabab聽has a history of launching attacks after losing key figures, and 鈥渢here is a possibility that we may see a short-term increase in Al Shabab聽attacks to both avenge Karate but do also show the group's dexterity in light of his demise,鈥� Cummings added.
Al Shabab聽has waged an insurgency in Somalia since 2006, and initially garnered supporters by providing services lacking in the areas they controlled. It has gradually lost local support, and weakened because of its strict interpretation of sharia law.聽Kenya deployed its troops in Somalia in 2011 to help troops from other African countries fight the Al Qaeda-affiliated extremist group.
