MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – US government has warned its civilian airlines flying in the Kenyan airspace to remain vigilant for possible attacks by militant group operating near Kenya and Somalia border.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said the advisory is consistent with the fact that Somalia-based terrorist group, Al-Shabaab remains in possession of weapons capable of hitting aircraft at low altitudes of up to 25,000 feet — putting at risk arrival and departure phases of flights, especially on the popular aviation route through northeastern Kenya and Somalia.
“The January 5, 2020, complex attack on Camp Simba, which is co-located with Manda Bay Airport (HKLU), destroyed or damaged multiple aircraft, demonstrating the group’s intent and capabilities to target the aviation sector,” said the FAA in a February 26, 2021 advisory.
The air routes covered by the FAA warning include those connecting Nairobi and Far Eastern countries like Dubai (UAE), India and China, among other destinations serviced by major airlines.
Although Al-Shabaab which based has never shot down or fire anti-aircraft missiles against aircrafts using Kenya’s airspace, yet the group in 2016 carried out attack on a plane which took off from Mogadishu aircraft.
A bomb placed inside Daallo Airlines Airbus 321 with 74 passengers on board blew a huge hole in its fuselage.
The plane made an emergency landing in the capital Mogadishu after the explosion shortly after take-off.
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