RAF Honington soldiers help train Kenyan army in fight against terrorists

Military personnel from RAF Honington have returned from conducting a training mission for the Kenyan Army.

Personnel from RAF Honington taking part in the training mission for the Kenyan Army. Picture: British Peace Support Team/RAF Honington - Credit: Archant

Kenyan Army personnel will be deployed to Somalia in the fight against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

To counter the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Somalia, a team of RAF Regiment Gunners have been training the Kenyans in specialist tracking techniques.

Flight Lieutenant Graeme Royston said: “The highest number of Kenyan deaths in the fight against al-Shabab are due to IEDs.

“The course begins with the basics of tracking; identifying ‘sign’ such as enemy footprints or disturbances, analysing it and determining numerous factors such as the age of the sign, how many individuals, the sex, size and health of the enemy.”

Personnel from RAF Honington taking part in the training mission for the Kenyan Army. Picture: British Peace Support Team/RAF Honington - Credit: Archant

The training took place at the Kenyan Defence Force School of Infantry, in Isiolo, 270km from Nairobi.