Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said at least 180 Kenyan soldiers were killed in an al-Shabaab raid on a military base camp in Somalia last month. Al-Shabaab is a militant group sometimes referred to as "Mujahideen Youth Movement."
"When 180 or close to 200 soldiers who were sent to us are killed in one day in Somalia, it's not easy," Mohamud said in an interview with a Somali cable channel on Thursday, according to APA.
"The soldiers have been sent to Somalia to help us get peace in our country, and their families are convinced that they died while on duty," the Somali president stated.
Al-Shabaab terror group, however, claimed it had killed nearly 100 Kenyan soldiers in the attack on African Union base camp of el-Ade in Somalia's southwestern region of Gedo, according to Nigeria Guardian.
Kenya has not officially released casualty figures so far, but its military denied the number of casualties given by the Somali president.
"I wish to deny information given by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud of Somalia that between 180-200 of our soldiers were killed during the attack. I don't want also to comment further on this since I don't know the source of this information," Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Col. David Obonyo told Xinhua news agency.
A 22,000-strong African Union force is battling the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia. Nearly 4,000 Kenyan troops are part of the force.
