NAIROBI, Sept 18 (NNN-XINHUA) — At least four people were killed and eight others wounded in a roadside blast in Mandera County near the Kenya-Somalia border, police said.
A minibus that was traveling from Mandera to neighboring Wajir County was hit by a bomb set by suspected al-Shabaab terrorists, according to a police report on security.
The Saturday evening incident happened amid heightened operations by Kenya’s special forces.
According to local sources, al-Shabaab terrorists raided Bamboo West village in Mandera North in the county on Sunday and set several houses on fire. Police said they are investigating claims that the gang kidnapped three people.
Mandera County, which borders the Kenya-Somalia border, is one of the worst-affected areas by al-Shabaab attacks. Kenya’s northeastern region has borne the brunt of grenade and gun attacks over the last several years since Kenya deployed its troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the al-Shabab group.
The extremist group has since changed tactics and resorted to abductions and using improvised explosive devices to carry out attacks in the border region.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan military confirmed on Sunday that they killed at least two al-Shabaab militants on Saturday in coastal Lamu County.
The troops recovered three AK47 rifles, more than 300 bullets, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) launchers and warheads during an ambush in Bodhei area, said an officer who declined to be identified, adding that the troops in the area had received intelligence about the presence of the militants who were hiding in two sites within the vast Boni forest.
The source said the military believed the insurgents were planning an attack in Lamu County.
The latest operation follows a terrorist attack on a military vehicle that claimed the lives of 14 soldiers last week. — NNN-XINHUA
