Multi-agency teams are searching for three men suspected to have
been abducted by al Shabaab militants on Monday in Iresuki village, Mandera
Central Subcounty.
Police said a rider, Derow Adan and his pillion passenger Isak
Abdulahi, were riding from Elwak to Iresuki when the motorcycle developed a
mechanical problem.
According to police, they then called the mechanic identified as
Amare Ibrahim to go assist them repair the motorcycle.
However, the motorcycle was found abandoned along the
Elwak-Mandera road at Bomba Doga, about 15 kilometres from Elwak town in the
March 17 incident.
It is suspected that the three were abducted by al Shabaab
militants since the area remains a terror-prone zone.
A search for the three has been launched, police said adding
they had not gotten any clue on the whereabouts of the three.
The area is the same one where five chiefs were last month
abducted by the same gang.
This comes as Kenya is still negotiating with the gunmen who kidnapped the five chiefs in Elwak, Mandera.
The group is being held in Jilib, Somalia amid efforts for their release.
The abductors have demanded ransom for the release of the victims. The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is porous.
The terrorists have been attacking the area, affecting development at large.
Somalia has not had a stable government for decades.
Security agents have mounted operations in the area in an effort
to contain the terror-related attacks.
Officials say this has led to the reduction of such incidents in
general.
The Monday incident happened even as the US Embassy issued a new travel advisory warning to its citizens residing in Kenya.
Americans have also been warned against traveling at the
Kenya-Somalia border counties, which include Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Tana
River and coastal areas north of Malindi.
Kenyan authorities are yet to respond to the advisory.
The embassy cautioned Americans from traveling to a number of areas citing security risks such as crime, civil unrest, terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
