Suspected Al-Shabaab hijack NGO vehicle in Mandera, driver missing
A Public Service Vehicle along Mandera-Banisa route. Suspected Al-shabaab militants hijacked an NGO vehicle on Thursday, the driver is missing.
Security agencies in Mandera are investigating the hijacking of a vehicle hired by an NGO said to have been driven toward Somalia by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.
The Thursday 10am incident was first raised by security officers in Kotulo Sub-County after it was reported that a Toyota Hilux double cabin had been hijacked.
“We received reports of a civilian vehicle hijacked within Kotulo area this morning. It remains unclear on how the same happened because it only had a driver,” Mandera County Commissioner Onesmus Kyatha said.
According to Mr Kyatha, until investigations are carried out and concluded, the incident remains suspicious.
“We need to gather more information on what exactly happened. It is only the driver who can tell us what happened and until we find him then it remains difficult to know the facts in this matter,” he said.
According to the police report from Kotulo Police Station, the green coloured vehicle had been hired by the Action Against Hunger organisation to deliver food supplements to Gesrebki Teno village, Falama Sub-Location.
The village is situated along Falama -Elram road close to the Kenya-Somalia border. The driver of the vehicle is yet to be found.
Last week, a man with a chain on his leg was found in the same area claiming he escaped from Al-shabaab captivity.
Mohamed Ibrahim Abdi told security agencies that he had been kidnapped by Al-Shabaab militants and taken to Somalia before he escaped and sneaked back to Kenya with a chain on his leg.
An ambulance was hijacked in the county last month before the four occupants including a patient and his relative, a paramedic and a driver to be released by the militants after two days.
Clan elders intervened leading to the release of the four but the vehicle is yet to be recovered.
There has been an increase of suspected Al-Shabaab attacks in Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties in the last two months following increased operation against the militants in Somalia in the past three months with local population joining government forces in tracking them down.
Two police officers are nursing injuries after an explosive exploded on them in Benane in Garissa County on Monday.
According to a report at the Hagadera Police Station in Dadaab, a group of officers from Boreder Patrol Unit based at Yumbis was attacked by suspected al-Shabaab militants.
The incident happened while the team was collecting firewood in Yumbis.
The unknown number of militants used Rocket Propelled Granedes (RPG), PKM and assorted rifles in the Monday afternoon incident.
Two other security teams from Yumbis and Benane responded and repulsed the attackers.
After the dust settled, the security teams collected an RPG measuring 60 mm and a handful of used bullet cartridges from the scene.
The explosive was dropped by the escaping militants according to police sources in Garissa.
It was during the detonation of the explosive that the two police officers were injured.
One of the officers had pellets lodged in the left hand just above the elbow while the second officer has pellets lodged in right ankle.
The officers failed to observe safety measures before detonating the device leading to the injury of the two officers.
A lorry belonging to the BPU team that was collecting firewood before they were ambushed had several bullet holes.
The injured officers were treated at the Hagadera Red Cross health facility and discharged in fair conditions.
Anti-Terror police unit from Daadab has since taken over the matter.
