Nairobi: At least one person was killed and five others including Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldiers were wounded in Tuesday’s attack by al-Shabab militants near the border with Somalia, the police said.
Northeastern Regional Police Commander George Seda said the militants targeted a convoy of vehicles the construction workers used along the Lamu-Ijara-Garissa road.
“Two KDF soldiers and four civilians sustained serious injuries and have been taken to hospital,” Seda said in a report on the incident which took place at around 8:30 a.m.
The latest attack which marks the second such incident in a week happened about seven km from a security camp in Garissa County as the group headed to their work stations from a road construction camp where they reside.
Seda said a convoy of Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) corridor workers working on the Lamu-Garissa road were moving to the construction site when it was attacked by suspected al-Shabab militants.
Seda said a fuel tanker was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) from the front, killing one occupant on the spot.
According to the police, the second car was hit from the rear and the other was a pickup which was attacked and burnt down. Some of the responding security team was also injured in the attack.
Seda said the attackers escaped into a bush after the attack. “We have sent more personnel to help in pursuing the attackers,” he said.
The incident comes a week after a similar roadside explosive killed four Kenya National Highways Authority engineers after the vehicle they were in was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) on the LAPSSET road.
