- The terrorists on March 11 attacked and killed five workers at a construction site in Lamu.
- The Lamu incident came two days after Kenya Defence Forces officers killed one militant and recovered an AK47 rifle with three magazines in Milimani.
Image: THE STAR
Three employees of a road construction company were injured when a vehicle they were travelling in ran over an explosive in Banisa, Mandera.
Police said the improvised explosive device had been planted on the road by suspected al Shabaab militants and timed to hit a security vehicle that was using the Banisa-Mandera road on Sunday.
The workers were headed to a construction site when their Land Cruiser ran over the explosive device.
They were taken to a local hospital and admitted in stable condition. The vehicle was badly damaged.
Northeastern police boss George Seda said they have intensified operations to tame such attacks.
He said they have organised sessions with residents who provide vital information to help root out remnants of the terror group that is behind the incidents.
There have been attacks in Wajir, Garissa and Mandera counties targeting both civilians and security agencies.
The recent spate of IED attacks in the region has led to civilian and security personnel fatalities, injuries, disruption of normal lives in some areas and growing fear among residents.
“Residents are fed up with cowardly acts by ragtag criminals who are disrupting their lives with IED attacks. They are warning al Shaabab miscreants that their days are numbered,” Seda said.
Regional commissioner James Kianda said residents have been supporting the government in securing the region from the incessant al Shabaab harassment and intimidations.
The commissioner said the government is committed to deal with the insecurity caused by al Shabaab and other forms of incitements.
He said residents should continuously support the ongoing security operations and deployment in the region, which he said was bearing some successes in dealing with the criminals.
Kianda also said administrators should work with residents to identify individuals who are helping al Shabaab militants by providing shelter, food as well as information.
He said the government’s counterterrorism efforts will continue unabated and any criminal found to be abetting terror acts in the region and the country at large shall be brought to justice.
The Mandera incident came two days after five construction workers were killed at a site in Bodhei, Lamu in an attack staged by al Shabaab militants.
Three others were injured in the attack on the workers who were constructing a Lapset road.
The terrorists who seem to be getting some backing from residents aim to stall the construction of the key road which will open the area to many business opportunities.
In January, the militants attacked a site and burnt eight trucks.
The Lapset corridor programme is Eastern Africa's largest and most ambitious infrastructure project bringing together Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
A Chinese company is constructing the road that will lead to Garissa, Isiolo and later to Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The road construction comprises of 257kms of Lamu-Ijara-Garissa section, which is part of the Lapset project.
Also, the Hindi-Bodhei-Basuba-Kiunga section which spans 113 kilometres and the 83kms Ijara-Sangailu-Hulugho stretch.
The project is expected to promote socio-economic development along the transport corridor, especially in the Northern, Eastern, North-Eastern and Coast, which are considered as economically marginalised.
The Friday attack came two days after Kenya Defence Forces officers killed one militant and recovered an AK47 rifle with three magazines in Milimani.
The security agents are there under Operation Amani Boni, which is meant to pacify the area and degrade the militants.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)