Kenya was assisted by Israeli Military advisers in the capture of Kismayo.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

 

The Kenyan army has captured Somalia’s Indian Ocean port of Kismayo, driving Al Qaeda’s Somali franchise Al Shabaab out of its last strategic stronghold, the key to controlling southern Somalia. The small Kenyan army, navy and air force fought to victory Saturday, Sept. 29, after a year-long ground, sea and air offensive.

 

Fearing the Shabaab was feigning defeat and lurking in the town’s alleys to strike back, Kenyan warships backed by the French Navy shelled suspected terrorist hideouts in Kismayo Sunday.

 

Very few Western military experts rated the Kenyan army of only 60,000 soldiers capable of routing the hard-bitten 25,000 Shabaab militants and capturing a sizeable region of Somalia – a feat which famously defeated US elite forces in 1993 in Mogadishu and forced the Ethiopian army to retreat with heavy losses in 2006.

 

But, although Washington and Paris denied any role in the East African conflict, US did contribute to the Kenyan effort with drones gathering intelligence for the Kenyan army and guiding the aim of its artillery, while French battle and supply ships operating out of Kenya’s Indian Ocean port of Mombasa dropped supplies, ammo and fresh Kenyan reinforcements on the Somali coast.

 

Even more tight-lipped were Jerusalem and Nairobi about Israel’s substantial contribution to the Kenyan war effort to push al Qaeda’s affiliate far from its borders.

 

1. Israeli military officers advised in the planning of Kenyan field operations. They recommended systematic special ops raids behind Shabaab lines to generate disarray in enemy ranks instead of rapid advances to seize large tracts of territory.

 

2. Israel supplied Nairobi with the weapons appropriate for these tactics, including drones and field intelligence equipment.

 

3. Israeli intelligence, police and special ops specialists in counter-terrorism counseled Kenyan internal security authorities on security in the big towns.

 

From Day 1 of Kenya’s operation in Somalia, the Al Qaeda Somali militia threatened to stage mega attacks on Nairobi and Mombasa, the Kenyan army’s chief port for delivering war supplies. This threat was staved off with the help of Israeli counter terror experts who assisted the authorities in the two towns.

 

Israeli-Kenyan friendship goes back a long way, but this was the first time Israel’s military, intelligence, counterterrorism and police officers were to fill a direct role in any concerted offensive against al Qaeda outside its borders.

 

With the removal of the al Qaeda menace from its borders, Kenya sees the rise of three important East African sea outlets at Mombasa, Lamu and Kismayo. All three will also provide the US, France and Israel with strategic military, naval and air bases, in position to block Iran’s scramble for expansion into the Indian Ocean and along the shores of East Africa.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

http://www.i4u.com/2012/10/somalia/outstanding-israeli-advisers-over-shabaab-army-s-somali-victory-qaeda-s-kenyan-al-h

 

http://www.israport.org/kenyan-army%E2%80%99s-outstanding-victory-over-al-qaeda%E2%80%99s-somali-shabaab-israeli-advisers-helped

[Jacpher]

It won't be shocking that they sought military advise given they were stuck and confused for a year to capture a city only 200 miles away from the border.

 

Azania made possible by the cooperation of Israeli intelligence and French Navy.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Its not the Somali republic using the Israelis directly its the Kenyans who were lost in the bushes they called for the help of the Israelis.

 

As for now Somalia is allied to the west but who knows what the future brings Somalia should try to keep the balance between the Chinese the Russians vs the Europeans and the Americans and their allies.

[rudy-Diiriye]

so this has turned into an israeli and iranian proxy war!! ok.........i guess them heathen dont care as long as africans are the ones shedding their blood.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

^^ I am not sure of the Shabaab iran link

[Mintid Farayar]

It's interesting this story received so little review in this Forum. Unfortunately, we can't see the forest from the tree! The whole Kenyan operation was stage managed at every step by larger powers. As any analyst of the region knows, the Kenyan security forces do not have the capacity to conduct pinpoint artillery and air strikes. Many of the airstrikes are conducted by non-Kenyan militaries and then attributed to the Kenyan airforce. Very similar to the airstrikes of Yemen. This level of military and intelligence capacity just doesn't exist locally in the region.

 

XX, the Iranian presence in the region is real (although not connected to Al Shabaab) as well as the close security cooperation between Israel and Kenya. The Israeli press has actively covered this in the last 2 years. As for the U.S. and France, it's simply prepositioning for the rapidly growing hydrocarbon reserves of the East African region. The insecurity of an Al Shabaab presence(as well as Somali piracy) in the region brings hesitancy to wider investment by the Western multinational oil companies.

 

Always follow the money....

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Mintid i am well aware of the close relations of Israeli and Kenya and i also agree the Kenyans were well assisted by the Israeli military adivers. I think they played a major role in the last operation in Kismayo and orchestrated much of the air strikes. But what is Irans involvement with Alshabaab where is the link. But the Islamic republic of iran has close relations with the government in asmara and that they deployed balistic missiles to Eritreas port city of Assab ,the Eritrean government how ever denies this. Today i was reading an article how the Kenyan government urged its professionals to invest in Somalia its indeed all about the money.