ONE KILLED, 3 INJURED IN NEP TERROR ATTACK IN WAJIR

BY ADOW JUBAT

One person was killed and three others were seriously injured on Wednesday night in another terrorist attack in North-Eastern region bordering the war-torn Somalia.

The latest attack that occurs less than twenty four hours after Tuesday night gun ambush against Kenya security officers that vitally injured four officers returning from escort from Dadaab to their work station in Libio targeted a makeshift food Kiosk  in centre of border town of Wajir.

On Saturday, one person was injured in another hotel in the town after hand grenades were hurled by assailants believed to have been members of the Somali Islamist group, Al-Shabaab exploded inside the hotel frequented by government employees.

Confirming the incident, the Wajir Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) Mr. James Mutungi said people suspected to be the sympathizers of Al-Qaeda linked Somali militiamen planted an Improvised Explosive Device at the hotel frequented mainly for its fast foods popular known as chips.

The hotel just like many others targeted in previous explosion is owned by people from other parts of the country seeking business opportunities in the North-Eastern, where has been relatively peaceful before the country sent its Military to neigbouring war-weary Somali to proactively forestall incursion by the Islamist group in the country.

Prior to the Kenya Defence Force incursion into Somali, Al-Shabaab carried numerous abductions of foreign including tourist and aid workers threatening the country’s tourist sector which the backbone of the foreign exchange earn.

He said the IED material exploded at around 7.45PM vitally injuring four, among them a hotel attendant, the proprietor and two customers who were at the time inside the premise.

He said “One of the casualties died on his way to the Wajir district general hospital, where the victims of the explosion were rushed for treatment, while the other three who also sustained heavy  injuries on their lower limps and broken hands were been treated at the hospital”.

According to an eye witness Musemi Albert,32,a casual worker  who was among the revelers at the hotel at the time of the explosion, but who escaped death by a whisker since he was having his food outside the restaurant said three people entered the hotel and ordered for chips (potato crisp) and shortly afterward  left in huff.

“When they entered the hotel, one among the trio pretended to take a seat at the place where the explosion rocked and left hurriedly to follow his colleagues who take their packed food. We never suspected what he may be doing at the corner where he was seated very briefly. We just thought he was waiting his colleagues until when the explosion occurred” he said praising God for saving him.

This marks the sixth attack in the region for the last one week.

The OCPD said the impact of the explosion destroyed the floor of the makeshift hotel and destroyed chairs noting that a four years boy who was holding onto the injured hotel attendant was thrown meters away by the impact of the blast, but was unscathed security.

He said officers were pursuing the assailants who escaped into the darkness of the night as security has been beefed-up in all places in the town where big number of people converges.

ENDS.

KENYAN SOLDIERS INJURED IN YET ANOTHER BORDER ATTACK

                                               

BY ADOW JUBAT

Four Kenya police officers were injured; three of them seriously by armed Somali gun men in a dusk attacks on Tuesday in the insecurity prone Dadaab district of North-Eastern region bordering the war-ravaged Somalia.

The attack which is the fifth in span of a week, in North-Eastern region bordering war-ravaged Somalia targeting the Kenya security personnels, occurred at War-diiglow (The dam of blood) some 45 Kilometers from Somalia border.

The attack comes barely a day after about thirty people were injured in Improvised Explosive Device attack in capital city of Nairobi on Monday by suspected members of the Somali Islamist Group, Al-Shabaab.

On Saturday night, twin separate hand grenade attacks in a border towns of Dadaab and Wajir left six civilians sustain injured. Early, two military officers were injured after their vehicle came under attack in Mandera border point one neighboring Somalia.

Confirming the incident, the North-Eastern regional police Chief Mr. Leo Nyongesa said suspected Somali armed bandits ambushed the police officers, who were returning to their base in Libio border point after scouting buses heading Nairobi.

He said the bandits where terrorizing the motorist plying the Libio- Garissa-Nairobi route on Tuesday morning paralyzing transport after erecting a mobile round blocks and attempted to hijack buses before the police who were informed by the member of the public responded quickly and provided armed security to vehicles using the road.

He said “The suspected Somali armed bandits numbering over ten took the road to Libio which usually is busy way at War-diiglow area and started harassing passengers and motorist in bid to hijack the bus leading to the intervention of our security officers”.

“When our officers were told of the criminals activities on our highway they responded swiftly, but the bandits escaped before our soldiers caught up with them. The officers provided security scouts to the motorist up to Dadaab which is 65 Kilometers from Libio, but on their returned to Libio they were ambushed by the bandits injuring four” he added when speaking to Frontierleaks in Garissa town.

He said the officers were returning to their station in Libio at night after scouting the buses and the bandits ambushed them near a road depression where the car had to slow down and located the movement of the police car with its flashlights before spraying bullets indiscriminately on the unsuspecting officers.

The regional police boss said “in the ensuing fire fight between our soldiers and the criminals four of our men and several from the assailant side were injured and now we are pursuing them with marks of the blood stains of the injured bandits seemingly carried by their colleagues”

He said the injured officers were later rushed to Dadaab district hospital where they are undergoing treatment and there are plans to airlift the three seriously wounded officers to Nairobi memory hospital.

“One of the officers who sustained minor injuries was treated and already discharged. The others three colleagues who sustained abdominal, Leg and hands injuries and who require an advanced treatment due to their conditions of their injuries will be airlifted to Nairobi shortly” Mr. Nyongesa noted.

The police chief said the security agents are now investigating claims by some people that the increased attacks in the North-eastern region could be exacerbated by youths who joined the Transitional Federal Government soldiers from the region, but who have defectors and run away with arm.

He said “We cannot conclusively blame the soaring banditry attacks on our region on the claims that youth from the region who defectors’ from TFG as claimed by some quarters, but as a security agent we always investigate all angels including this claims”.

He said the Kenya security agency has mounted an extensive combined aerial and ground operation from all wings of the national security to pursue the attackers and bring them to book.

ENDS.

GARISSA BRIDGE SCARE: AL-SHABAAB MISSION ABORTED

SECURITY SCARE

BY ADOW JUBAT

Transport to and from North-Eastern region was paralyzed for over ten hours after a suspected explosive device was found under Garissa/Tana Bridge.

Hundreds of vehicles and commuters remained stranded on the both sides of the five meters bridge which is the only entry and outlet into to the remote region bordering the war-torn Somalia.

Security personnel including ballistic experts who were called in from Nairobi condoned off the bridge as they search for the suspected explosive that was first noticed by a members of the public who was crossing the bridge on foot.

The security scare has led to  a massive cancellation of bookings in major hotels within Garissa town with over ten seminars also being cancelled leading to massive loss of income by the local traders, with some hoteliers’ already estimating  losses of millions of shillings in the booking cancellation.

According to an eye witnesses, the suspected improvised Explosive Device [IED] that sparked panic in Garissa and neigbouring Tana River districts was found attached neatly beneath the bridge by unsuspecting commuter who raised the attentions of the police manning the bridge.

The witness who declined to be named said that police officers led ballistic experts who come by military helicopter from Nairobi removed the device and directed the security officers manning the bridge to stop vehicles and people to use it until they ensure it was safe for use .

The Islamists militia group Al-Shabaab who were blamed for spates of kidnappings of foreign aid workers working in North-Eastern region and incursion into the border districts has led to the invasion of the Kenya Defence Force has repeatedly threatened to explode the bridge to cut off the Military  supplies to KDF fighting inside Somalia flush out the terror linked group.

The bridge security scare come barely five hours after a similar incident disrupted humanitarian activities at the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp for the better part of Thursday.

In the Dadaab incident a suspected IED was found at the Dadaab main offices for humanitarian aid organizations operating in the area which led to a circulation of security threat that resulted to the suspension of all activities within the refugee camps.

Speaking to the press over the two incidents North eastern PC James Ole Serian said that “a device like bomb was seen at the middle of the road last night, one man who seen seated next to the place where the device was found was arrested and interrogated by the police,”.

He added: “When the police interrogated the man, he claimed to be resting and was ordered by the police to leave the area immediately, when the security personnel went to the check the place where he was seated they saw some bottle they suspected to be an IED,”.

The PC further said that bomb experts were called in to check and found that what caused the security scare it was an empty bottle tired beneath the bridge. However, they took the precaution and closed the bridge from public use for safety and he urged the public to be extra alert so as not to be caught off guard by terrorist attacks.

ENDS.