LAMU, Kenya -- Supported by military planes and helicopters, Kenyan tanks, military trucks and columns of troops streamed across the Somali border Sunday in coordination with Somali government soldiers. Initially reported by locals, the operation was soon confirmed by Kenyan government spokesmen.
The mobilization comes in the wake of a spate of kidnappings along Kenya's vast, porous border with Somalia that prompted the Kenyan government Saturday to effectively declare war on al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab militants.
Delivering a joint statement with the country's top security chiefs, Internal Security Minister George Saitoti vowed to pursue the group in both rural and urban areas.