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Kenyan Jets Bomb Southern Somalia, 10 Dead


A Kenyan F5 fighter jet (file photo)
A Kenyan F5 fighter jet (file photo)

Suspected Kenyan fighter jets have bombed the southern Somali town of Jilib, killing at least 10 people.

At least 45 people were also wounded in the attack.

Local officials say Sunday's strike targeted an area where al-Shabab militants were distributing food to internally displaced people.

Reports say many of those killed were civilians, including several children.

Kenya sent an undisclosed number of troops across the border earlier this month to fight Al-Shabab, which is blamed for a series of kidnappings of foreigners on Kenyan soil.

On Saturday, Kenya's military chief General Julius Karangi told reporters there is no timeline on the operation against al-Shabab rebels. He said his troops will remain in southern Somalia until Kenyans feel safe.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Somalia's al-Shabby militants say an American citizen was one of two suicide bombers behind a recent attack on an African Union military base in the capital.

A pro-Shabab radio station and website identified the Somali-American bomber as a young man named Abdisalan. It said he emigrated to the United States at the age of two.

U.S. authorities have not verified the claim, although several American citizens of Somali origin are believed to have traveled to Somalia to join the insurgency.

On Saturday, two suicide bombers detonated explosives outside the AU peacekeeping base in Mogadishu. It is unclear how many soldiers were killed in the attack, but al-Shabab says dozens died.

Al-Shabab is fighting to topple the U.N.-backed Somali government and set up an Islamic state in Somalia. The militant group has lost ground to Somali government and African Union troops in recent months but still controls considerable territory in southern and central Somalia.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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