KISMAYO CAPTURED: BBC NEWS

[InvisibleHand]

The Kenyan military says the last major Islamist militant bastion in southern Somalia has been captured.

The port city of Kismayo has been a stronghold of the al-Qaeda aligned group al-Shabab.

Kenya's military said it was taken by a combination of the Kenyan Defence Forces and Somali government troops.

The Kenyan troops are part of an African Union force trying to wrest control of the country for the newly elected UN-backed president.

[The_Patriot]

Where is A.W?

[InvisibleHand]

(Reuters) - Kenyan and Somali government troops captured Somalia's southern port of Kismayu, the al Shabaab militant group's last major bastion, the Kenyan military said on Friday, but residents said there was fighting just outside the city.

"(A report that) Kismayu fell today to KDF (Kenyan Defense Forces) and TFG (Somali government troops) forces is indeed very true," military spokesman Cyrus Oguna told Kenya's Citizen television.

Along with forces from Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti, Kenyan troops have been battling the group, which has links to Al-Qaeda, in an African Union peacekeeping force mandated with wiping out the rebels from their strongholds.

"So far there has been minimal resistance," Oguna told Reuters, adding that the troops had entered Kismayu early on Friday.

In Kismayu, residents said they could hear fighting near the beach, which is about 4 km outside the city.

"Now we hear shelling from the ships and the (rebels) are responding with anti-aircraft guns," Ismail Suglow told Reuters on Friday.

"We saw seven ships early in the morning and now their firing looks like lightning and thunder. Al Shabaab have gone towards the beach. Many residents have taken their guns. The ships poured many AU troops on the beach," he added.

Al Shabaab, which was driven out of the capital Mogadishu last August and is fighting African Union forces in other parts of the country, said there was heavy fighting going on between the two sides.

"Ships have brought Kenyan troops on our Kismayu beach last night. Fierce fighting between us and them is going on now," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's spokesman for military operations, told Reuters on Friday.

Kenya sent its troops into Somalia last October after the rebels were blamed for a series of raids on Kenyan soil targeting its security forces as well as Western tourists.

Somalia has made progress in the past year in battling the Islamist militants, who have wanted to impose their strict interpretation of Sharia law across the country since taking control of large swathes of south-central Somalia from 2007.

(Reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Nairobi and Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu; editing by Mohammad Zargham, John Stonestreet)

[Rabshoole]

[waryaa]

does any1 remember shabab's twitter #? the one with HSsomthing? tnx in advance.

[InvisibleHand]

does any1 remember shabab's twitter #? the one with HSsomthing? tnx in advance.

https://twitter.com/HSMPress

[Jaasuusnimo]

does any1 remember shabab's twitter #? the one with HSsomthing? tnx in advance.

https://twitter.com/HSMPress

[Shaarib24]

does any1 remember shabab's twitter #? the one with HSsomthing? tnx in advance.

https://twitter.com/HSMPress

It's @HSMPress

[MenaceToSociety]

Brilliant military tactic on the part of the Kenyans, they let the rebels believe that they was coming in through the otherside. This is an amphibious night landing which I think we will find out if it was successful or a failure n the next coming days. I think the rebels were nt that stupid not to know such a military possibilities. They done have calculated every eventuallity otherwise they need to b truelly neutralized bc wth such a inferior miilitary planningg u don't deserve to fight, all it means is they wasting the lives of someone elses child. I will wait n c who wins this shit

[waryaa]

tnx guys!

[herndonhomer]

this al-shabab nonesense IMO has been the worst shit in somalia in the past twenty years...at least qabil fighting was defending your qabil's interests but these guys are straight al-queda wannabees

[waryaa]

kenyans are on fire on twitter saying we prevailed where americans failed, wake obama up to see we finally did it, etc...!
https://twitter.com/i/#!/search/?q=%23KDF&src=hash

[InvisibleHand]

Residents, many of whom were hunkered down in their homes as the battle continued, said the attack came from the air and sea at around 3am local time. Some expressed fears the assault would signal the start of a wider battle for control of the strategic port among rival clan militias.

he added, saying there had been no casualties among the Kenyan troops or their Somali National Army (SNA) allies. The Kenyan army has also been supported in its campaign by Ras Kamboni, a local militia.

Kismayo is their last major stronghold, and a key source of revenue: the militants are heavily dependent on earnings from charcoal exports through the port, and taxes levied on businesses.

She said she had seen four bodies on Friday morning, including those of civilians. The elder, Abdi Buule, said around 160 people had been arrested by the Kenyan forces, who feared the militants would try to hide among the population.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/se ... yo-somalia

[Eaglehawk]

Al shabab was hoping for a blitzkrieg strategy on the part of the allied forces
Al shabab employed counter strategy to blitzkrieg against Ethiopia in 2006. Currently al shabab wanted to make Uganda and Kenya extend their supply lines, thinking Uganda and Kenya would employ overwhelming force, then al shabab was hoping to employ guerrilla tactics, just like they did to Ethiopia back in 2006

The tactic that they used in gedo , was their overall strategy to counter the allied forces ,with limited forces against the allied forces they gave the impression of easy penetration of key points by the allied forces. al shabab thought that allied forces were after strategic chocking point and that the allied forces were thinking in conventional manner, so al shabab devised the counter strategy to blitzkrieg by coming back from initial dispersion and attacking the allies on the rear(attacks in beled xaawo and luuq)
The diversification strategy against al shabab is a success; this is the new strategy that you will see being employed in the war on terror across the world.
Native levies+ drones+ limited force= answer to akwanist

There were 2 strategies competing: the Afghanistan strategy and the Somalia strategy (overwhelming force vs limited force)
It seems the Somalia strategy won.

As for the political success that accompanies the military success, that is in the hands of non-other than the victorious natives (jubalanders)
The new akwaan president is laughing in villa Somalia now, we gave him something that sheik afgaduud didn`t have, he has now political leverage(Pm decision becomes easier now)

I want to gratulate the people of jubaland for their tireless effort, the past few years.

[Oba]

nicca u haven't captured a shit yet