At least three passengers were Wednesday killed and six were seriously injured after a matatu they were traveling in hit an Improvised Explosive Device in Mandera.
The matatu with 14 passengers was heading to Takaba from Mandera town when it ran over a set IED between Wargadud and Elele, police said. The incident happened Wednesday, June 21 at about 2.30 pm.
The terrorists behind the bomb are said to have targeted a non local who was on board but he was rescued and taken to a local police camp.
Witnesses told police after the Land Cruiser was hit, the non-local survived and dashed into the bush for his safety before he was rescued to the local police camp.
The injured victims were rushed to hospital with multiple injuries. Police say terrorists from neighboring Somalia continue to rig roads in the area near the main border with IEDs.
This came hours after two police officers and a local engineer were on Tuesday killed in a similar IED attack at the Tarbi area in Guba ward along the Banisa-Rhamu road in Mandera County increasing the number of those killed to six in less than 24 hours.
Five other officers were injured in the June 20 incident, police said.
Police said the incident happened when the vehicle the officers were traveling in was hit by an IED. The vehicle was on escort duties and was escorting a PSV bus when the incident happened, police said.
County commissioner Amos Mariba said the injured officers were receiving treatment at Banisa subcounty Referral Hospital.
The attacks happened days after all the security heads and the county leaders embarked on a new route to devise innovative ways to deal with insecurity and violent extremism.
Wednesday’s incident is the latest to happen in the area amid fears of more on the way.
al Shabāab terrorists are conducting attrition operations targeting both logistics and security men along the Kenya-Somalia border.
On Monday night a police camp in Guba ward was also attacked sparking a fight that lasted more than two hours, police said. At least 30 people have died in the area in the past month in attacks by the terrorists.
This is despite ongoing campaigns to address the menace. The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals.
While speaking in Garissa county on Tuesday Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the government will next year modernise the military and police artillery in a renewed move to bring an end al Shabaab attacks both in the country and neighbouring Somalia.
The equipment will include sophisticated armoured personal carriers with ability to detect improvised explosive devices along the areas under their command.
The CS said the government in the next three months will also buy sophisticated equipment to help the police and the Kenya defense forces in the fight against terrorists.