By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya

The Kenyan military says it has killed the deputy commander of the Somali-based al-Shabaab militant group which has wreaked havoc in the Horn of Africa region since 2011.

Ten other “middle-level commanders” were also killed during heavy bombardment by Kenyan forces, the army said.

“The Kenya Defense Forces under AMISOM operations would like to confirm that Mahad Mohammed Karatey aka Mahat Karatey the al-Shabaab deputy commander and overall head of the Alamnyat -- al-Shabaab’s intelligence wing -- and 10 other middle-level commanders were killed in a major KDF strike on Nadaris camp,” the Kenyan Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Thursday.

The attack apparently took place on Feb. 8 but the military have only just released details. The claims have not been verified by an independent source.

Nadaris camp is located in southwestern Somalia between Buale city and Sukow. Karatey had reportedly visited the camp to preside over the passing-out parade of 80 Alamnyat recruits.

“They were due for deployment to carry out more terrorist attacks; it is confirmed that 42 recruits were also killed while many others sustained serious injuries,” the military’s statement added.

The news comes more than a month after al-Shabaab militants ambushed a Kenya Defense Forces camp at El Adde in Somalia, killing an unspecified number of Kenyan soldiers.

The militants claimed to have killed more than 60 soldiers but to date only 33 bodies have been brought back to Kenya.

Kenya’s military has remained silent on the exact number of soldiers that it lost during the attack.