A Kenyan local government official was injured on Sunday after a vehicle in which they were traveling in hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in Mandera County near the border with Somalia.
Jeremiah Kossoim, Mandera county police commander said the Sunday morning explosion targeted the vehicle which was carrying a local government official from the Mandera Water and Sewage Company.
“The vehicle was also carrying four fellow staffs and three children from Elwak to Mandera and upon reaching Jabbi area about 35kms from Rhamu town, the said vehicle was hit by an IED before it was sprayed with bullets by suspected al-Shabab members,” Kossoim said in a statement.
The police commander said the victim was shot in the abdomen while the driver managed to drive through the ambush and stopped at about 5 km from the scene.
“The vehicle sustained a front right and rear left tyre burst and a shuttered windscreen,” he added.
Kenya’s northeastern region has borne the brunt of grenade and gun attacks in the last several years since Kenya took its troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the al-Shabab militia group.
Many people, majority of them non locals or Christians have as a result lost their lives with others left with permanent injuries.
Al-Shabab has since changed tactics and resorted to abductions and using improvised explosive devices to carry out attacks in parts of Coast and northeastern regions according to police. Enditem
