Roadside IED kills 1, injures 11 in Kenya

[anonymousfaarax]

Blast hits Kenya army truck near Somalia border

(Reuters) - A blast struck a Kenyan military truck in Mandera on Thursday, the army said, the latest in a spate of attacks on Kenyan security forces along the border with Somalia since the east African country sent troops across the frontier.

Kenyan Colonel Cyrus Oguna told Reuters the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device, and that the army was checking whether there were any fatalities or wounded.

"It was an IED. Were going to confirm the extent of damage. It hit a lorry carrying personnel. Right now there are no details of fatalities or wounded," Oguna said.

Leo Nyongesa, the police commander for North Eastern province in which Mandera town is located, told Reuters no soldiers had been killed in the incident, but some had been wounded.

Kenya has been plagued by a wave of attacks since it sent hundreds of soldiers into neighbouring Somalia last month to crush the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant group.

Local media said 11 troops were wounded in the attack on the truck, and that they were being airlifted to the capital, Nairobi.

Local residents said security forces had sealed off the area around the blast site.

Mandera is in Kenya's sparsely populated far northeast, close to the porous borders with Ethiopia and Somalia.

Kenya, the region's biggest economy, is the latest of a string of foreign powers to try to stabilise Somalia, which has been mired in violence for two decades.

(Reporting by Sahra Abdi; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Barry Malone)

[anonymousfaarax]

1 dead and 11 injured out of the 13 in the military truck.

[Meru]

so, is that news??? has been happening all the time. good thing our casualties since the war started are just 8 my friend yes 8. and 5 of those died from an helicopter mechanical crash. so war casualties just 3, did someone say success?? and who has told you one is dead. now give us shabab casualties and be honest

[anonymousfaarax]

^ Im not interested in what you have to say Meru.

[anonymousfaarax]

Soldier dies, 11 injured in suspected Al Shabaab attack


One soldier died and at least 11 others injured when a timed landmine exploded on their lorry in a daring attack in Mandera town at the Kenya/Somalia border.

The soldiers were also shot at from two directions after the landmine went off at about 6am Thursday.

The injured were being treated at the local hospital. Three of them had their legs badly injured while the rest had severe burns, witnesses said.

They were part of 13 soldiers who were headed for the main border when the landmine that had been set on the road exploded few metres from their military base.

Officials in Mandera said after the explosion, there were gunshots fired from two sides by unknown assailants. The assailants escaped to the thicket as the other two soldiers jumped out and tried to repulse them.

Police immediately blamed the attack on remnants of Al Shabaab militants who are operating in the area.

"This was more of an ambush because the attackers also fired several bullets at the lorry soon after the landmine explosion. Some of them are talking and none is unconscious," explained one officer who visited the scene but asked not to be named.

There is tension in the town as the incident came a day after two police officers were attacked by gunmen and seriously wounded in Liboi on Tuesday night.

The officers were flown to Nairobi on Wednesday for specialized treatment. One of the officers was shot on the left side of his chest around 9pm at Abdi-Sugo, about five kilometres from Liboi town.

The second one sustained slight injuries in the legs after the attack by gunmen who managed to escape into darkness on foot after the ambush.

The officers were in a group of six officers from Dadaab and had reportedly taken prisoners to court and were travelling back to their station about 100km away when the incident happened.

"These are people who knew the officers had taken these prisoners to court and were returning. Investigations are underway to know who they are," said a senior officer in the area.

The victims’ colleagues said they had just passed Abdi-Sugo and were heading to Dat Kuran when the gunshot rented the air.

Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe confirmed that the incident had happened and that the officers had been brought to Nairobi.

The Mandera attack is the latest incident to happen targeted at police officers especially in the area, where it is believed the majority of Al Shabaab remnants are hiding and operating.

Officers in the larger Dadaab refugee camp have been missing death by whisker in timed but failed bomb attacks.

At least three landmines have failed to detonate after being hit by police cars in Hagadera camp since Kenyan military launched an offensive on the militants in Somalia last month.

Police believe the attacks are being launched by the sympathisers of the gang who are not happy with the operation in their country.

More anti-terror police officers have been dispatched to major towns in North Eastern to help in investigating those behind the series of attacks in the area.

[anonymousfaarax]

Local residents said the truck caught fire after the blast.

"I heard a heavy explosion... I saw smoke. The truck was burning and was reduced to a shell," said Ibrahim Mohamed.

"I saw three officers on the ground, they were all crying out... their bodies were blood-stained."

Targeted bomb attacks in the areas near the border with Somalia have been on the rise since Kenya's incursion.

A remote-controlled bomb blew up a police vehicle escorting a UN convoy in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp near the border with Somalia last week.

Another Kenyan police truck escorting UN vehicles hit a land mine in the same area earlier this month, but the explosive failed to detonate.