Monday September 27, 2021
By Nyaboga Kiage
Nairobi (HOL) - At least fifteen Al -Shabaab militants on Monday died in a deadly Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack in Lamu near the Kenya- Somalia border, according to a KDF spokesperson.
The 15 were travelling inside a vehicle that ran over the IED, killing them on the spot and destroying the vehicle.
“The vehicle ran over an IED killing the 15 on the spot in Lamu near the border with Somalia,” a statement by Esther Kioko, the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) spokesperson, said.
She said that the incident happened at 9:30 am between Sarira and Ras Kiamboni near Ishakani in Lamu County.
According to Kioko, the IED was placed on the road by Al-Shabab fighters. It appears that the Al-Shabaab fighters unintentionally ran over it.
All occupants in the vehicle died.
There was a massive presence of police officers near the area where the incident took place.
In the recent past, Kenyan intelligence reports have revealed a considerable presence of militants along the Kenya- Somali border and within the vast North-Eastern region.
Kenya has been a target of the militants who have their base located in Somalia.
It remains unclear who had planted the IED, which ended the lives of the militants. However, Al Shabaab is known to use IEDs, especially in the North-Eastern region.
The IEDs are usually planted by the roadside and typically target officers who are travel in police land cruisers.
In a recent statement, Strategic Intelligence, which keeps records on Al Shabaab operations and attacks in the East Africa region, said that Kenyan Security agencies should be cautious, especially in terror-prone counties of Mandera, Wajir Lamu and Garissa.
In May, suspected Al Shabaab militants planted IEDs along a busy road in Lamu which led to the death of eight soldiers after a vehicle the officers were travelling in ran over an IED which police believe was planted by the militants in Baure.
The early morning incident took place in Baure, located in the dense Boni Forest, where the national government has been undertaking a multi-agency security operation dubbed Linda Boni.
The operation is aimed at flashing out Al-Shabaab militants in the vast Lamu County.
Two weeks before the incident took place, two people were killed and one critically injured in Lamu when the vehicle they were travelling in ran over an IED still near the border with Somalia.
The incident happened on May 3 near Border Point 27, located in Lamu East.
Al-Shabaab militants denied that their militants were killed by running over their own IED. Media outlets that are affiliated with the insurgency group claim that it was fifteen Kenyan soldiers who were killed on Monday