MANDERA, Kenya—Eight people, including five road construction workers, two National Police Reservists (NPRs) and a driver, have been killed in a suspected Al-Shabaab ambush targeting a security vehicle escorting an engineering team along the Arabia-Lafey road in Mandera County.
The attack occurred at around 7am on Tuesday in the Hagarsu area, approximately eight kilometres south of Arabia Police Station, as the team involved in an ongoing road construction project under the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) travelled along the route.
Preliminary police reports indicate that suspected Al-Shabaab militants opened fire on the vehicle, killing all eight occupants.
The five construction workers were reportedly non-locals, while the driver was a local resident. The two security officers were attached to the escort team as National Police Reservists.
The bodies were later transferred to Mandera Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.
A multi-agency security team comprising officers from the local police station, Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Counter Terrorism unit was dispatched to pursue the attackers and investigate the incident.
Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif condemned the killings, describing the attack as a devastating loss for the victims’ families and the county.
Khalif said it was particularly painful that people engaged in infrastructure development had lost their lives while working to improve services and connectivity in the region.
He called on security agencies to urgently investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice, reiterating the county government’s commitment to working with security agencies to safeguard residents and development projects.
“The people of Mandera deserve peace and security, and an environment where development initiatives can proceed without fear or intimidation,” he said.
The latest attack comes amid renewed security concerns in northeastern Kenya following a series of suspected Al-Shabaab assaults targeting security installations near the Kenya-Somalia border.
On November 7, suspected militants launched simultaneous attacks on Hulugho Police Station and the Gesreb Special Operations Group (SOG) Camp in Hulugho Sub-County, Garissa County.
According to police reports, three suspected militants fired three rounds from an AK-47 rifle towards Hulugho Police Station from the northern direction, while the Gesreb SOG Camp, which hosts a multi-agency security team, came under sustained gunfire from a PKM machine gun fired from the southern direction.
Security personnel repulsed both attacks, with initial police reports indicating that no casualties or property damage were recorded.
In a separate incident in Mandera County, security personnel at Damasa Forward Operating Base (FOB) also repulsed an attempted attack by six suspected Al-Shabaab militants.
The suspects were reportedly detected approaching the camp’s defensive position at around 10.30pm using a drone, prompting security personnel to engage them with indirect fire.
The militants reportedly returned fire using AK-47 rifles and a PKM machine gun before withdrawing.
The latest killings have heightened concerns over the safety of construction workers and security personnel operating in border areas, where suspected Al-Shabaab militants continue to pose a security threat.
