- Police said the team was travelling from Garissa to Hailey Chinese camp then to Bura East when the incident happened.
- North Eastern regional police chief George Seda said the attackers escaped from the scene and efforts to trace them were ongoing.
Image: HANDOUT
At least four people were Wednesday killed when a vehicle they were travelling in ran over an improvised explosive device along the Garissa- Bura road.
The explosive destroyed the four-wheel drive vehicle belonging to the Kenya National Highway Authority engineers, killing the four occupants, police said.
Police who attended the scene said they recovered three bodies, while a fourth one was badly destroyed in the impact.
A KeNHA spokesperson said the deceased were workers of a contractor working on the road.
Police blamed the attack on al Shabaab militants.
The engineers were in three vehicles and were on a routine assessment of the Lapsset Road when they were attacked by the suspected militants who had placed an IED on the old Lapsset Road, which exploded destroying the first vehicle.
The other vehicles turned back to Hailey camp, which is under police protection.
Police said the team was travelling from Garissa to Hailey Chinese camp then to Bura East when the incident happened.
North Eastern regional police chief George Seda said the attackers escaped from the scene and efforts to trace them were ongoing.
It is the latest incident to happen in the same area. In December last year, two police officers and a civilian were killed in a similar attack.
The terrorists are targeting projects, including the Lapsset port and road. A Chinese company is constructing the Bura-Garissa road connecting Tana River and Kilifi counties.
There are fears they are planning an attack on security agencies and civilians.
This has prompted operations spanning from Mandera, Wajir, Lamu and parts of Kilifi counties. The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which has been under attack by terrorists in the past.
The road will lead to Garissa, Isiolo and later to Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The construction comprises 257km Lamu-Ijara-Garissa section, which is part of the Lapsset project. It includes the 113km Hindi-Bodhei-Basuba-Kiunga section and the 83km Ijara-Sangailu-Hulugho section.
Local police officials said they had deployed more personnel to pursue the gang operating in the expansive Boni Forest.
The Lapsset Corridor Programme is Eastern Africa's largest and most ambitious infrastructure project bringing together Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
(edited by Amol Awuor)