4 killed in Mandera roadside bomb blast

FRIDAY JUNE 16 2017

Four people were killed and 11 others injured when their vehicle run over a home-made bomb in Mandera town on June 16, 2017 PHOTO | COURTESY

In Summary

· County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said the pickup truck was heading from Elwak to Mandera town.

· County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said the scene of the explosion has been a hotspot for a long time.

By MANASE OTSIALO
More by this Author

Four people have been killed and 11 others seriously injured after their vehicle run over a roadside bomb in Mandera.

County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia on Friday confirmed the 12pm incident, saying the pickup truck was heading from Elwak to Mandera town.

"The vehicle operates on the road as a public service vehicle and was carrying 15 passengers when it [run over] what we suspect to be [a home-made bomb]," he said.

CHIEF DEAD

Mr Shisia said two chiefs were among the victims of the explosion.

"It is unfortunate that two of my chiefs were in the same vehicle and [one] is dead and the other is in a critical condition," he said.

He said the injured were taken to Lafey Sub-County Hospital.

POLICE RESERVISTS

The county commissioner added that the scene of the blast has been a hotspot for a long time but security agents are working to improve safety.

"We are soon hiring police reservists to be posted in areas perceived [as] hotspots, especially on the borderline, so that we contain the situation," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but in recent weeks Al-Shabaab militants have stepped up roadside bombings in the county that borders war-torn Somalia.

Last month, five police officers were killed when Mandera Governor Ali Roba's convoy was attacked.

TERRORISM

But Mr Shisia said there was no link between the two incidents, adding that investigations into Governor Ali Roba’s incident are under way.

"We cannot link the two incidents because in one of them, Al-Shabaab never claimed responsibility," he said without specifying.

He mentioned areas between Fino and Lafey, and Fino and Arabia that he said are vulnerable to attacks due to their proximity to the porous Somalia border.