- Witnesses and police said the first group of about five went to Elram A mosque while armed with rifles.
- The al Shabaab terrorist also attacked a General Service Unit camp in Elram using Rocket Propelled Grenades and rifles.
Image: FILE
Al shabaab militants raided two mosques in Mandera and lectured the faithful who had attended morning prayers.
Armed with AK47 rifles, the militants went to Elram A and B mosques on Saturday and took over the session for a while.
Witnesses and police said the first group of about five went to Elram A mosque while armed with rifles.
The militants said there were at war with non-Muslims and should join their course.
Another group went to Elram B mosque and lectured the attendants, urging them to join the fight.
Police said no one was injured.
Two gunmen stood at the entrances as the rest preached.
Such incidents are common in the area.
The al Shabaab terrorist also attacked a General Service Unit camp in Elram using Rocket Propelled Grenades and rifles.
Police said the gang targeted a communication mast in the camp.
They, however, did not manage to destroy it.
Police fired back in exchange repulsing the group of about 20 men.
They said the attackers left the town promising to be back soon.
Residents said they fear the gang is planning a large-scale attack in the area.
“Whenever they target communication mast it shows they plan a large-scale attack and we urge authorities to act,” resident Abdi Khatai said.
This is the latest such incident to happen in the area.
Two weeks ago, terrorists targeted a school in Mandera East near the Kenya-Somalia border. They had targeted non-local teachers.
An unknown number of terrorists who were armed with guns and explosives, struck Libehiya Primary School in Arabia subcounty on October 12 prompting some teachers to escape.
The attack was disrupted by a group of National Police Reservists in the area who responded.
Police said the same group targeted a communication mast in the shopping centre but were also repulsed by reservists who were manning it.
The attackers used Rocket Propelled Grenades to attack the mast damaging part of it.
In Lafey subcounty, the same group was spotted probing a police camp amid fears of plans to attack it.
Witnesses said the gang surveyed Alungu Quick Response Unit camp an hour after an earlier attack on the school and later fired an RPG at a communication mast.
The officers present repulsed the group, which escaped towards the main border.
Northeastern police boss George Seda said they had deployed more police officers to pursue the attackers who escaped towards the border.
The terrorists have been targeting security installations in the area, despite campaigns to address the insecurity menace.
This has affected the education sector, forcing non-local teachers to leave.
Other professionals also escaped amid mounted security operations.
The terrorists said they are conducting the attacks to put pressure on Kenyan troops in Somalia to leave.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by residents.
The area is near the Somalia border and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping.
Al shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region, especially in Mandera and Garissa after breaching security zones, which left several civilians and security officials dead and wounded.
The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by security agencies.
Kenyan troops are in Somalia to pursue and suppress the activities of the terror group.
Kenyan troops first entered Somalia in 2011 when the country launched a military offensive against the al Shabaab in an operation code-named “Operation Linda Nchi” to counter a rising insurgency that saw several tourists abducted from the Kenyan coast.
As a result of Kenya’s involvement in Somalia, the country has suffered several large-scale and small-scale attacks from the militant group both in the country and Kenya’s security installations outside the country.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris