On 17 October, media reported that Somali TFG forces had taken control of the town of Qoqani. Kenyan air support reportedly assisted in the battle, with attack helicopters bombarding Al-Shabaab positions. Some reports also suggested involvement by the United States military, though Somali and Kenyan officials alluded only to Kenyan participation in the clash. TFG spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman indicated that Kenyan troops were only supplying "logistical and moral support" and that Somali military officers were actually combating the Islamist militants. while undertaking support operations in
Liboi town. 5 Kenyan soldiers died in the crash. The operation reportedly involves "truckloads" of soldiers, helicopters, and warplanes. At least two Kenyan battalions of 800 men each have been committed to the campaign. A
car bomb exploded in Mogadishu as Kenyan ministers visited the capital on 18 October, leaving at least two people dead and 15 injured. On 24 October, French media reported that the Somali army and Kenyan troops were advancing toward the southern town of
Afmadow, with the eventual aim of seizing
Kismayo from the Islamists. Eyewitnesses report that Al-Shabaab had confiscated trucks to bring fresh troops to Afmadow and started building an entrenchment system. Early on 24 October, a
Russian made F1 grenade was detonated in the Mwauras disco in Kenya's capital
Nairobi. The detonation injured 14 people. The local police linked the attack to Al-Shabaab. It was followed by a second attack that evening against a bus stop. The second attacked killed at least one person and injured eight. A suspect was arrested and pleaded guilty for both attacks. He said that he is a member of Al-Shabaab. Identified by the media as Elgiva Bwire Oliacha (alias Mohamed Seif), a recent Kenyan Muslim convert, he was sentenced to life in prison after having pleaded guilty. The man reportedly smiled at cameras, stated that he harboured no regrets, and indicated that he would not appeal his sentence. According to Somali military officials, air-strikes bombed targets in the southern town of Kismayo, an Al-Shabaab stronghold. On 27 October, four civilians were killed when their car was attacked by unidentified assailants near the Kenyan-Somali border in
Mandera. It is, however, unclear whether Al-Shabaab was behind the attack. Kenya admitted conducting an air raid but blames Al-Shabaab for the death of the civilians. Kenya's Premier Raila Odinga said that civilian deaths were regrettable and any incidents would result in an investigation. However, he blamed Al-Shabaab for causing the civilian casualties by stating that an Al-Shabaab
technical equipped with a machine gun, which was targeted during the air raid, drove into a civilian compound while burning and exploded, leading to civilian casualties. On 31 October, TFG troops killed at least ten Al-Shabaab insurgents during clashes in Busar and Modaale, villages near the town of
Elwak. TFG forces were reported to be nearing the port of
Burgabo, 140 kilometres south of Kismayo. On 3 November, Kenyan military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir warned Kenyan and Somali merchants via Twitter not to sell donkeys to Al-Shabaab, as the group has now "resorted to using donkeys to transport their weapons." He also cautioned the public that any "large concentration and movement of loaded donkeys will be considered an al-Shabab activity." On 10 November, Al-Shabaab fighters ambushed a Kenyan convoy in between the towns of Tabda and Bills Qoqani. The fighting which started in the afternoon continued overnight and according to Al-Shabaab they managed to kill 30 Kenyan troops and destroy six Kenyan military trucks. The TFG, however, claimed only 21 soldiers had been killed and that only three trucks were destroyed, while four were captured by Al-Shabaab. Kenya's military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir was, however, quick to deny the claims, and stated that Al-Shabaab had resorted to a propaganda campaign and categorically stated that the reports carried on Iranian press TV to be unsubstantiated and completely false. "Attention of the Ministry of State for Defence has been drawn to the influx of propaganda and false information in regards to the on-going operation in Somalia. The continued false reporting by Press TV and other like minded media is unacceptable and should not be taken as factual information and events," said Major Chirchir. On 16 November, TFG and Kenyan forces attacked an Al-Shabaab base in Busar. An Al-Shabaab official alleged that his group had killed 8 and captured 3 allied soldiers during the battle. Kenyan military officials denied the claim, saying that the joint forces had killed 12 militants but incurred no casualties. Later that day, Al-Shabaab attacked
Raskamboni movement positions in the town of Kulbio near Dobley. On 19 November, Kenyan Colonel Cyrus Oguna told the press that information and intelligence volunteered by local residents in southern Somalia had greatly assisted Kenyan forces. He cited captured Al-Shabaab positions as a testimony to this fact, and suggested that more areas would be secured courtesy of this information. The volunteered intelligence had also reportedly helped the soldiers successfully manage a change in tactics by the Al-Shabaab militants, the latter of whom had reportedly resorted to disguising themselves as women to escape the joint Somali and Kenyan troops. On 21 November, Kenyan military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir warned that the militants planned to release a video clip showing allegedly captured Kenyan soldiers being executed. He said this was part of the propaganda campaign against the operation. He said the relationship of the Kenyan and Somali military with the local people in the areas where Al-Shabaab have been flushed out continues to thrive. "Based on this, we received concrete information of an arms trade and Al-Shabaab infiltration which were countered successfully," he said in a statement. On 31 December 2011, the TFG retook control of
Beledweyne from the Al-Shabaab militants. Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers and around 3,000 allied Ethiopian army troops attacked the city in the early morning, capturing it after hours of fighting. Around 20 people were killed in the battle, mainly consisting of Ethiopian soldiers and Al-Shabaab insurgents. At least 60 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed due to airstrikes by the Kenyan military on 7 January 2012, according to officials in Kenya, with a further 50 or so injured. ==Aftermath==