Thursday, October 06, 2016
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Suspected Al-Shabaab members raided a residential building in NE Kenya on the morning of Oct. 6, 2016, killing 6.(Xinhua/Stephen Ingati)
MANDERA, Kenya, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has deployed more security officers to its northeastern border with Somalia to pursue suspected Al-Shabaab members, who killed six people in an attack on a residential building early Thursday.
Northeastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh told Xinhua the security apparatus were working with the Somali army and authorities in Somalia's Bula Hawa, which borders Kenya, to trace the attackers.
The armed attackers raided the residential building, situated less than one kilometer from the Somali border, in Mandera town at around 02:30 a.m. local time.
Saleh said the attackers used explosives to blast their way into the gated residential area and then shot at people in the building.
"The building was inhabited by 33 non-locals. Five of them died on the spot while the sixth succumbed to the injuries as he was being rushed to hospital," Saleh said.
The attackers fled after security officers responded. A nearby shop was destroyed in a fire caused by a grenade thrown by them. The attack lasted less than ten minutes.
Saleh said the swift response from the security officers, who were on their routine patrol along the volatile border, managed to rescue the other 26 tenants.
The official said "life has come back to normal" in the town and investigations were underway. He appealed to local people to report any information they have regarding the attack.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Saleh said: "We highly suspect the attackers are members of Al-Shabaab insurgent group who have sneaked across the porous border."
The Somalia-based Islamist group Al-Shabaab has carried out several deadly attacks in Kenya in recent years, including the April 2015 attack on Garissa University College in northeast Kenya, which killed 148 people, mostly students.
Recently, suspected Al-Shabaab attacks have been limited to Kenya's border areas near Somalia.
The northeastern region has remained relatively calm since the Garissa University attack. The last major attack was the killing of 14 quarry workers in July 2015 by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.
Saleh said Al-Shabaab militants had resorted to attacking "soft targets" in hit-and-run tactics.
He attributed the reduced attacks to "concerted efforts by the security apparatus", but people in border areas still fear they could be targeted by Al-Shabaab.