Bomb last in Kenya leaves 10 dead following Terror Threat Warning

Security forces are reflected in a window riddled with bullet holes at the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 15, 2019. Ben Curtis/AP

NAIROBI, Kenya - An Improvised Explosive Device [IED] targeting a passenger vehicle left at least 10 people dead on Monday in Mandera, a county located several miles from Nairobi, Kenya's capital and a few kilometers from Somalia.

The morning blast also left several people badly wounded along Arabia-Mandera Highway, which has been a hotspot for Al-Shabaab attacks. The exact number of people in the vehicle which was traveling to Mandera town is still unknown.

According to eyewitnesses, the number of casualties may skyrocket due to severe injuries inflicted on some of the occupants. Police said at least eight other passengers were seriously injured in the incident.

Authorities in Kenya suspect that the attack was waged by Al-Shabaab militants who have been targeting the region. Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, and Lamu Counties have been major targets of the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants.

So far, Northwestern regional commissioner George Seda noted, nobody has been arrested in connection with the blast. However, security forces have been mobilized to pursue the attackers, he added.

“Witnesses have seen five bodies and we are on the ground now,” he said, adding that the blast occurred about 8 kilometers from Mandera town which is located near the Kenya-Somalia border in the northwest.

Last week, the foreign missions of France, the USA, and the Netherlands warned of an impending terror attack in Kenya but did not give specifics. The missions asked their nationals to avoid tourist sites as police beefed up security.

Al-Shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region especially in Mandera and Garissa counties after breaching security zones, which left dozens of civilians and security officials dead and wounded.

Last year, the United States deployed more troops to the region to work closely with the Kenya Defense Forces. The troops have heightened security in the region and in the last couple of months, very few incidents of terrorism have been reported.

Al-Shabaab militants control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia but have been significantly degraded by security forces. Importantly, Kenya has borne the brunt of Al-Shabaab attacks for the last 14 years.

GAROWE ONLINE