by CYRUS OMBATI
Thursday December 22, 2022
TERRORISM: Al Shabab is said to have lost grip in most areas. Image: FILE
At least three people were killed in al Shabaab attack in Garissa on Wednesday morning.
The two police officers and a civilian were in a police vehicle when they were attacked between the Hayley Lapsset Camp and Garissa.
Police and survivors said the attackers first used an improvised explosive device to demobilise the speeding police vehicle before they followed with a rocket propelled grenade.
They then fired at the vehicle killing the two officers and a civilian as other officers escaped for their safety.
The whereabouts of those who had escaped into a bush are not known.
Police said an unknown number of terrorists had set up the bomb on the road in the morning hours and laid an ambush on the approaching vehicle.
After the car ran over the IED and it exploded the driver, those on board managed to survive. However, they came under attack with the RPG and rifles.
The attackers then set the vehicle ablaze.
The vehicle belonged to Galmagalla police station, Bura East is attached to the construction of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport road project.
The Lapsset corridor programme is Eastern Africa's largest and most ambitious infrastructure project bringing together Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border.
North Eastern police boss George Seda said they are pursuing the attackers and that more officers had been deployed to the area for rescue missions of those missing.
Police say intelligence shows there are pockets of terrorists who have been released from Somalia and are in Kenya near the border with a mission.
On Saturday night, police fought off an attempt by suspected terrorists to overrun a police station in Kutulo, Mandera county.
A group of terrorists had targeted the Elram Anti Stock Theft Unit using Rocket Propelled Grenades and rifles when the officers there fought back.
Seda said no injuries were reported.
The communication mast was however, slightly damaged during the attack.
Police said the attackers escaped towards the nearby Kenya-Somalia border.
This is the latest such attack to happen in the area.
Security agencies are on alert following reports that the al Shabaab terrorists are planning attacks there.
The area is near the main Kenya-Somalia border, which is usually breached by al Shabaab terrorists who attack at will.
Terrorists have been targeting security installations in a series of incidents and destroying them. They at times throw the explosives, which don’t explode.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by residents.
The terrorists at times plant explosives on the routes used by security agencies and attack them.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.