Al-Shabaab militants kill 3 in Kenya
The Kenyan police on Friday launched manhunt for four Al-Shabaab militants who killed three people in the northeast Mandera before escaping toward Somalia’s border. Mandera County Commissioner, Fredrick Shisia, said that the gunmen killed a police officer and two civilians outside a bank in Elwak town in Mandera County early on Friday. He said that […]
The Kenyan police on Friday launched manhunt for four Al-Shabaab militants who killed three people in the northeast Mandera before escaping toward Somalia’s border.
Mandera County Commissioner, Fredrick Shisia, said that the gunmen killed a police officer and two civilians outside a bank in Elwak town in Mandera County early on Friday.
He said that no fewer than five gunmen in a private vehicle drove towards Equity Bank before spraying bullets indiscriminately from their vehicle at about 8.30 a.m., killing three on the spot.
He said that the attackers sped off after the killings towards Bula Haji, near Somalia, adding that the police responded swiftly.
Shisia, however, said that the assailants had escaped by the time the police arrived.
Elwak town is located seven kilometres from the Kenya-Somalia border.
Shisia said that he suspected that the militants were on a revenge mission after two of their top commanders were killed on Monday by Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
“The Al Shabaab might have been revenging on the killing of two of their top commanders by KDF inside Somalia. The commanders originate from Elwak,” he said.
He said that the militants were known to upscale attacks during the last 10 days of Ramadan and especially during dates with odd numbers.
Regional Commissioner, Mohamud Saleh, said that security officers had been dispatched to the area to pursue the attackers but that no arrest had been made.
He said that the officers were under firm instructions to search for the attackers.
Meanwhile, two people are nursing their injuries at a local hospital after their vehicle ran over a bomb planted on the road.
Shisia said that the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off as the vehicle with two occupants drove near it at about 9.30 a.m. on Friday in Lafey Sub-County.
“The windscreens of the vehicle were completely shattered down and two occupants of the vehicle seriously injured due to the impact of the blast,” he said.
He called on road users to be careful while driving along the Lafey-Mandera road.
According to Shisia, many IEDs targeting civilian and security officers have been planted in the past one month killing several people in different incidents.