Children killed in shoot-out with suspected terrorist in Kenya

The shoot-out happened in Kwale county, 28 kilometres south of Kenya’s secondlargest city Mombasa late on Friday evening at the suspected militant’s home.

TWO children were killed in Kenya in a firefight with a suspected al-Shabaab militant, police said on Saturday.

The shoot-out happened in Kwale county, 28 kilometres south of Kenya’s second-largest city Mombasa late on Friday evening at the suspected militant’s home.

“As the officers were preparing to break in, the suspect suddenly opened the door and threw a grenade towards the officers slightly injuring one of them,” said Kwale county police commander Joseph Nthenge.

Police did not provide details of how the children were killed, their sex and age and whether they were the suspect’s own children. They claimed the suspect used them as human shields.

Three more children and the suspect’s pregnant wife were injured during the incident, police said.

The suspected terrorist was killed and two other suspects were also arrested.

Human rights groups have condemned the killings, describing the police’s anti-terrorist operations as reckless.

“This is very wrong,” said Francis Auma of the Mombasabased organisation Muslim for Human Rights, demanding an oversight investigation.

“It clearly shows recklessness within the force where the lives of children are collateral damage during such operations.”

The al-Qaeda linked alShabaab has carried out a string of deadly terror attacks in Kenya in retaliation to the African Union force stationed in Somalia aimed at neutralising the fundamentalist al-Shabaab.