Scene of the explosion in Mandera on April 7, 2025/SCREENGRAB
The revelers who were inside a food joint in Mandera where an explosion occurred on Monday escaped with slight injuries, the police have said.
However, according to the security authorities, it is not clear who the targets were. The police on the ground said the hotel is frequented by non-locals.
The explosion was so powerful that it blew off the roof and lit a fire that was later contained.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border where al-Shabaab terrorists cross for attacks.
Police said they are investigating the incident. This is the latest such incident to happen in the area amid operations to contain the trend.
Authorities have heightened their security operations in the area, underscoring the ongoing threat posed by the terror group.
The incident came as security teams enhanced operations in the area along the border amid fears of more attacks by the terror group.
It also came as a group of chiefs who had been abducted from the Elwak area were released at Jilb, Somalia.
The administrators were abducted on February 3 as they headed for a meeting in the area.
The group was set free from their captivity in Jilb on Sunday, April 6, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said.
“The chiefs have been released and are now in the hands of the Kenyan authorities. They will soon join their families. Once the chiefs are in the country, we will share the measures put in place," Murkomen said.
“The country is facing constant threats of terrorism, and our officers are doing a fantastic job to protect Kenyans without sharing the operations publicly,” he said.
Elders who participated in the negotiations leading to the release said the chiefs were freed on Sunday.
They were released and handed over to Garreh elders in Jilb, Somalia, Sunday evening.
Plans to bring them back to the Elwak, Kenya side were underway.
The five chiefs- Mohammed Adawa, Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Noor, Assistant Chief Ibrahim Gabow, and Senior Chief Abdi Suraw-—were abducted after they were ambushed by suspected terrorists in Elwak, Mandera County on February 3, a day before President Ruto started his tour of the region.
More operations have been planned in the region to tame the trend.
