6 killed as Al Shabaab attack Mandera town

Six people were killed when armed Al Shabaab militia attacked Mandera town 2:00am Thursday morning, North Eastern Regional Commander Edward Mwamburi has confirmed.

One person was injured in the early morning attack that took place at Bulla public works plot.

“The building had 19 people. Six were killed and one was seriously injured in the attack,” Mwaburi said in a phone interview with  Citizen Digital.

Mandera governor Ali Roba thanked security officers for responding swiftly to the attack, adding that he grieves with the affected families.

“We have suffered another sad attack in Mandera where six have been confirmed dead and one seriously injured. We grieve with our families,” he wrote.

Police are yet clear the building as they suspect that the building has been rigged with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) bomb experts have been deployed to assist in the operation.

The assailants, who were reportedly clad in Kenya Army uniform, have escaped towards Somalia. Mwamburi has, however, confirmed that an operation to capture the assailants is underway.

Al Shabaab have taken responsibility for the attack, with their military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, telling Reuters, “We are behind the Mandera attack in which we killed six Christians.”

North Eastern Kenya has been rocked by several attacks over the past few years, largely because of the regions proximity with war-torn Somalia.