Interior CS Joseph Nkaisery (centre), PS Dr Monica Juma (left) and Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet address the press on the Al Shabaab attack in Mandera.
Kenya’s security agencies were caught unawares by Al Shabaab militants who attacked a village in Mandera, killing 14 people and injuring 11 others, the government admitted today, throwing the spotlight on the country’s preparedness for terror attacks.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaisery said the terror group targeted 150 people in the attack but 136 were rescued. “If we had prior intelligence on the planned attack we could have stopped it. It was a surprise as it happens in many other parts of the world and as I said the terrorists sneaked into the country with the help of some collaborators,” he said.
The armed attackers sneaked in from Somalia and raided Soko Mbuzi Village in Mandera Town at around 1.30am, blew up the gate using an improvised explosive device and started shooting indiscriminately.
“The intention of the heinous murderers was to take siege of the quarters with the aim of executing the 150 residents of the estate. However, 136 residents who were facing imminent danger of slaughter by the terrorists were safely evacuated,” he said.
Major-General (rtd) Nkaisery said police officers on patrol engaged the attackers in gunfire, forcing them to flee back to Somalia. “The swift response by the police repelled the attackers who fled back to Somalia. Unfortunately, 11 Kenyans were killed during the attack while three others succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment,” he said.
The injured were brought to Nairobi by a Bluebird Aviation aircraft while the police helicopter brought the bodies to Nairobi. The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the police have launched a joint operation led by the North Eastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Ali Saleh to hunt the killers.
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