Cop killed as donkey cart carrying IEDs explodes at Mandera border

At least one police officer was Thursday killed and two injured when a bomb that had been tied on a donkey cart exploded at the cross border of Bula Hawa in Mandera county.

Two other officers were injured in the morning incident, police said.

Two donkeys were crossing with luggage from Somalia's side and had a guide when the controlled Improvised Explosive Device went off, police said.

The officers manning the border had stopped the animals with their guide for the usual inspection of contraband goods and other unwanted goods when the cart went off.

Witnesses and police said the explosion caused a huge fire at the scene and that the two donkeys were injured.

Police suspect the explosive was remotely controlled by al-Shabaab militants operating in the area.

The cart is said to have been carrying fuel products. Mandera has been experiencing a lull in terms of attacks.

Police say they have thwarted dozens of planned attacks in the country, mostly in the northern region.

IEDs have become the most preferred weapons by the militants in the country due to their portability, easy assembling and devastating impact.

The increase in the terror attacks in the country, particularly in the Northeastern region, came after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) made an incursion into Somalia in 2011.

The area is near the Somalia border and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping back.

Al-Shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region especially in Mandera and Garissa counties after breaching security zones, which left dozens of civilians and security officials dead and wounded.

The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by the security agencies attacking them.

Meanwhile, al-Shabaab militants publicly executed seven militants including Kenyans for allegedly spying for the governments of Somalia, Kenya and the US.

Kenyans in al Shabaab are targeted for elimination on trumped-up charges especially now that leadership wrangles are threatening to break the group, officials say.

In a show of inhumanity, the terrorists forced local people to attend and witness the barbaric execution carried out in Jilib town.