Somali-based militants are increasingly using improvised explosive devises in their guerrilla attacks against Kenya. Like their counterparts elsewhere, the militants use the IEDs to strike soft targets of a stronger enemy.
The terrorists have changed tactics, more so because our counter-terrorism efforts are working after several blunders that ended in, among others, the massacres at Westgate Mall in Nairobi and Garissa University.
This war of attrition is costly in human lives and resources. Many young men have died especially in Mandera, Garissa and Wajir at the hands of al Shabaab militants in recent years.
The latest fatalities were in Wajir nine days ago when seven APs died after their vehicle hit an IED as they pursued militants who had killed a police reservist.
Frequent terrorist attacks take a heavy toll on the morale of security agencies. Thankfully, the morale of our men in uniform is not in doubt. We commend them, especially the counter-terrorism strategists, for substantially reducing blood-letting by terrorists in the country.
There is, however, a need to reflect on the safety of non-military forces as they patrol the porous border with Somalia. Granted, it is hard to predict where the terrorists will plant IEDs and when. But military strategists must have gadgets with sensors to forewarn motorised security forces - the equivalent of remotely controlled mine sweepers.
