- This raises fears as to why the attacks have started melting the security officers along the border region as the incidents have for the last several years been thwarted
- It was reported that a team from National Police Reserve that responded was met with thrust, leaving six of them dead
At least eight gallant KDF Special Forces have lost their lives after the vehicle they were travelling in set off an improvised explosive device at Bodhei area along the border of Lamu and Garissa counties.
The Tuesday 13th June, two separate reports indicated that the incident occurred when the officers, who all died on the spot, were patrolling the area.
The bodies of the deceased officers have since been recovered but their identities have yet to be established owing to the magnitude of the explosion which reportedly damaged their bodies beyond recognition.
Military personnel have since processed the scene and fortified security in the area.
In another incident, six National Police Reservist including twelve other people were killed in another two separate attacks linked to the al Shabaab terror group in Garissa.
The attackers used Improvised Explosive Devices to strike security agencies as they moved on roads also leaving dozens injured.
North Eastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno confirmed the incidents but declined to give further information.
“We had incidents in the area but will give you more later,” Otieno said.
This is the highest number of casualties so far this year as the terror group keeps moving into the country from Somalia where they have been facing onslaught from authorities.
There are fears more such attacks will continue in the border region and may happen in any part of the country.
On Tuesday, the group targeted a passenger bus in Afaad in Mandera by shooting at it to force the driver to stop in vain, police said.
The driver sped off with a deflated tyre saving almost 50 passengers who were on board.
In the Sangailu area, Garissa, authorities said the terror group targeted troops with an IED killing four of them.
This is after their vehicle ran over an IED. The personnel were also attacked with guns, witnesses said.
A team of National Police Reserve that responded was met with resistance, officials said adding this left six of the NPR dead.
Another IED hit a KDF vehicle in the Mararani Area of Responsibility killing two troops, officials said the attacks happened almost simultaneously. Response teams arrived at the scene and rescued more personnel.
This increased to 12, the number of security officers killed in a single day in terror-related incidents. Security agencies have warned of worse times ahead as the attacks increase.
Last week on June 7, two police officers died while five were injured after an armored car they were traveling in was hit by an IED in Mandera near the Kenya-Somalia border.
The team from the Quick Response Unit was moving to the Qurqura area in Elwak on an armored Land Rover when they ran over an IED that had been set up by suspected al Shabaab terrorists, police said.
The two succumbed to the injuries in hospital.
The IED forced the vehicle to roll off the road and landed in a ditch injuring the seven officers on board in the 6 am incident.
The officers had gone to Elwak town and were from Alungu for fueling when they were attacked.
Tuesday’s attack was the latest incident to happen in the area amid reports that dozens of al Shabaab militants are now operating there in readiness for attacks.