Seven killed in Mandera Shabaab terror attack
At least seven people, including two National Police Reservists (NPR), were killed in Mandera on Tuesday morning when suspected Al-Shabaab militants ambushed their vehicle.
Mandera County Police Commander Robinson Ndiwa said the attack happened at about 7am in Hagarsu, along the Mandera-Arabia-Fino-Lafey-Elwak road on the Kenya-Somalia border.
"We lost seven people including two National Police Reservists after they were ambushed by suspected Al-Shabaab militants. Their vehicle was sprayed with bullets as they headed to work," Mr Ndiwa said by phone.
Locals reported seeing heavily armed assailants block the road before opening fire on the vehicle.
The police commander said the motive for the attack had not been established.
"We don't know the motive yet, as the area has remained calm for quite some time. We have launched investigations as combined security agencies pursue the attackers, who retreated into the nearby thickets," he said.
Not the first attack in the area
The area recorded its worst terror attack on December 2, 2014, when 36 quarry miners, all male adults, were ambushed and killed in their tents as they slept near the quarries.
Tuesday's attack is also not the first to target road construction workers along the Mandera-Arabia-Lafey road. On December 22, 2019, at Hagarsu Bida, suspected Al-Shabaab militants used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to blow up road construction machinery belonging to Abdulahi Khalif Company, valued at Sh39.8 million.
The equipment included an excavator valued at Sh20 million, a Sh9.5 million flat roller, sheep-foot rollers worth Sh9.5 million and a pressure pump worth Sh800,000.
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