(Nairobi) The Kenyan military today revealed that over the past 24 hours they have carried out air strikes against strongholds of the terrorist organisation al-Shabab which carried out the murderous attack on Garissa university last week. The first strike was carried yesterday afternoon, followed by another this morning claimed by the Kenyan military to have destroyed the terrorist bases in the Gedo region of Somalia. In response, Al Shaabab claim that the bombs landed in an empty field. However, the bBC is reporting this:
The aircraft the Kenyans use is the Northrop F-5E/F Tigershark, a lightweight fighter aircraft built during the 50s and 60s.
I'm not sure of its effectiveness as a ground attack aircraft or if the Kenyans use PGM, so I can only suspect that dumb bombs were used during the attack. But here's a video taken in January this year showing how low the Kenyan air-force pilots can get their F-5Es.
Analysis: Abdullahi Abdi, BBC Africa, Nairobi This is the latest in a series of air strikes that Kenya's military has carried out in Somalia. Often, they are accompanied by reports of civilian casualties - in this instance, I have heard of a mother and her two children being wounded.
Many people in Somalia believe the air assault is merely aimed at showing Kenyans that the government is responding to the threat posed by al-Shabab.
They point out there was a similar strike after al-Shabab killed 36 quarry workers in Kenya's north-eastern Mandera region in December. Then, too, there were reports of civilian casualties, while Kenya failed to provide any proof of al-Shabab being hit.
The aircraft the Kenyans use is the Northrop F-5E/F Tigershark, a lightweight fighter aircraft built during the 50s and 60s.Many people in Somalia believe the air assault is merely aimed at showing Kenyans that the government is responding to the threat posed by al-Shabab.
They point out there was a similar strike after al-Shabab killed 36 quarry workers in Kenya's north-eastern Mandera region in December. Then, too, there were reports of civilian casualties, while Kenya failed to provide any proof of al-Shabab being hit.
I'm not sure of its effectiveness as a ground attack aircraft or if the Kenyans use PGM, so I can only suspect that dumb bombs were used during the attack. But here's a video taken in January this year showing how low the Kenyan air-force pilots can get their F-5Es.
