12 killed in separate Al-Shabaab IED attacks in Kenya

GOOBJOOG NEWS | GARISSA:  At least 12 people including six Kenya Defence Forces soldiers died in two separate IED attacks in Garissa and Lamu counties.

According to North Eastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno confirmed the attacks but said that details on the incident will be released later.

Cross-border attacks have increased in Kenya as Al-Shabaab militants move away from Somalia where the Federal Government has stepped up is offensive against the militants – creating a potential security challenge for Kenya and neighboring states.

The latest attack comes after a similar incident in Mandera where suspected militants shot at a bus ferrying 50 passengers. However, the driver of the bus sped off with a deflated tyre saving the passengers on board.

In Sangailu area, Garissa, authorities said the terror group targeted troops with an IED killing four of them after their vehicle ran over an explosive device. The personnel were also attacked with guns.

In a separate incident, another IED hit a KDF vehicle in the Mararani Area in Lamu, at the coastal region of Kenya 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.

In June, 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.