Two people were killed while several others were rescued on Wednesday evening when suspected Al-Shabaab militants laid an ambush on vehicles at Mambo Sasa Forest, near Witu Town on the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road.
A group of over 10 heavily armed militants, disguised as Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers, put up a roadblock in Mambo Sasa area.
Signal information corroborated by information from a security source indicated that a vehicle with several General Service Unit (GSU) officers had left Nyongoro and was headed to Mokowe but on reaching Witu’s Mambo Sasa Forest, they found a suspicious roadblock had been erected by the militants who had already stopped the four vehicles.
“We took cover and responded, forcing them to flee into the forest while still firing at us. We sought reinforcement from Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) Nyaatha, GSU Katsaka Kairu, SOG Nyongoro, and KDF who arrived later,” stated the report.
During the ensuing fire exchange between the militants and security, the GSU vehicle was shot at and the front left tyre and ATF power steering pump were damaged.
After the militants fled, security officers searched the area and rescued two Italian women who were found in a saloon car. They also recovered the bodies of two people who were fatally shot inside a lorry. The lorry’s fuel tank was damaged.
“There was also a Honda Saloon…with several gunshots but the occupants were nowhere to be found. A burnt motorcycle with an invisible registration number with the owner not seen was also spotted at the scene,” said the source.
The attack came just a day after Coast Regional Commissioner John Elungata led a multi-agency security team from Lamu and the Coast region plus area leaders, including Governor Issa Timamy, in visiting Ziwa la Taa Village in Witu Division, where two people were shot dead by bandits on Christmas Day .
Those killed were 35-year-old Mwanza Ali Nyae and 30-year-old Rai Bingo Rumba. A house was also torched in what was reported to be a suspected Al-Shabaab attack.
By the time of going to press, Mr Elungata and Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia and Coast Regional Commissioner had not given further details on the Wednesday ambush.
