AlHijjah 6, 1432, Nov 2, 2011, SPA -- Kenyan military aircraft will target and destroy weapons that were flown into Somalia on two planes and delivered to Islamist militants, AP quoted a military official as saying on Wednesday. A U.N. arms monitoring group has documented many instances of money, fighters and weapons being given to militants or flown into areas of Somalia they control. Kenya's military on Tuesday said it had reliable information that two aircraft landed in the Somali town of Baidoa with weapons on board intended for al-Shabab militants. A July report by the U.N.'s Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea said that al-Shabab controls two large airports and one former military airport with asphalt runways. Al-Shabab may then be capable of chartering and receiving deliveries by aircraft, it said. Kenyan military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said Wednesday that military planes would target and attack those weapons so they cannot be used. He said intelligence showed that the weapons were transported to a militant camp. Chirchir has warned that the Kenyan military will attack 10 Somali towns where it believes al-Shabab has a presence and advised civilians to stay away from al-Shabab camps. Kenyan forces are moving in on the port city of Kismayo, one of the places with a large runway that al-Shabab controls. Al-Shabab fighters closed down roads leading to Baidoa airport on Saturday, a Nairobi-based security official said. Hours later, residents heard heavy weaponry being fired, he said, citing information from informants in the town. The organization the official works for does not allow him to be identified by name. -- SPA
