Police staged an intelligence-led operation against two al-Shabaab camps in Garissa and recovered assorted bomb-making materials.
The team from the Special Operations Group (SOG), Kenya's elite Counter-Terrorism Group said the makeshift camps on the Kenya-Somalia border were established as Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) assembly bases.
They were to be used to attack and disrupt civil transport and commercial activities on major roads linking Garissa and Lamu counties, officials said.
The raid was staged on Tuesday, November 5 following intelligence the gang was assembling the materials there, police said.
The gang abandoned the camps, leaving behind, IED making materials (detonators, switches, IED cylinders, sodium nitrates), bullets, communication gadgets and assorted ammo for hand-held rocket launchers.
The security agencies thanked the local communities for their continued support in sharing valuable information in the fight against terrorism.
The team said the bombs could have affected many people’s lives in the area.
This came days after an IED set on the roadside left a police vehicle badly damaged along Mandera-Wajir road on Saturday, November 2.
Five police officers who were on board escaped with minor injuries, police said.
Police have increased operations in the region to tame plans by the terror group to establish bases and attack targeted areas.
This is part of ongoing counter-terrorism operations by security agencies in the wider North Eastern Region which police say have been fruitful in thwarting terrorism attacks and securing the locals who have vowed to enhance their cooperation in the fight against the terrorist group.
There are terror threats in the country, which have prompted operations.
The recovery is the latest in a series of incidents in the area.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals.
Al-Shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region, especially in Mandera and Garissa counties after breaching security zones, which left dozens of civilians and security officials dead and wounded.
The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by the security agencies. But police have been countering their efforts.
Kenyan troops are in Somalia to pursue and suppress the activities of the terror group.
Kenya has upped their operations targeting the militants.
In the process, dozens of militants have been killed.
