Kenyan and Briton Behind Attacks On Kenya Army Camp

Two Kenyan commanders in Somalia's Al-Shabaab and a British jihadist Thomas Evans, also known as Abdul Hakim - who joined the terrorists after converting to Islam at the age of 19 - are among 11 militants killed by Kenya Defence Forces ( KDF).

Evans was allowed to travel abroad by British authorities who ignored warnings from his mother after she expressed her concern at his behaviour.

Among the Kenyan Al-Shabaab commanders killed is Luqman Osman Issa alias Shirwa from Mombasa, who led the attacks on Mpeketoni in Lamu County a year ago in which 65 people were massacred, KDF spokesman Colonel David Obonyo said yesterday.

Luqman's mother lives in Mombasa. The late Ibrahim left Mombasa for Afghanistan in 1999 and is believed to have inspired Luqman's conversion to violent extremism. According to a government report seen by The Standard, Luqman's other brother Issa Osman Issa "was involved in the Kikambala bombing in 2002."

"This is a big victory for us and also a major setback for Al-Shabaab because now there is no mainstream commander in Lamu," Obonyo told Reuters, adding Shirwa's body was in a morgue in Mpeketoni.

Obonyo said another man apparently of Caucasian or Arab origin was among the dead, while the others killed appeared to be from the region.

Britain, berated by the Jubilee government for issuing travel warnings in the recent past to its citizens against visiting Kenya's coast, said it could not confirm whether Evans had been killed.

"We are aware of reports of the death of a British national in Kenya," said a British government spokesman. "We cannot confirm these at this time."

Two Kenyan soldiers died in the gunfight during the 5.45am raid on Buare, 39km north of Bargoni in Lamu East.

By midday yesterday, KDF soldiers were hitting forest positions where heavily armed militants are believed to be hiding, but were advancing cautiously in case Al-Shabaab militiamen had ringed roads and bushes with mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

British authorities were informed about the terrorist links of Evans alias Abdul Hakim, 25, by his mother Sally Evans.

On February 3, this year, three years after the slain terrorist reportedly joined Al-Shabaab in Somalia, the Home Affairs Committee took evidence from his brother Micheal Evans and mother who had wanted him jailed.

The committee proceedings were later the subject of debate in the House of Commons on February 9 when then Secretary of State for the Home Department Theresa May responded to a question by an MP