By CYRUS OMBATI
Tuesday September 12, 2023
Fourteen military personnel were Sunday injured after their lorry ran over an improvised explosive devise in Baure, Lamu county.
The Kenya Defence Forces lorry was using the Baure-Drum main supply route when it ran over the IED, officials aware of the incident said.
The explosive destroyed the Kenya Army technical vehicle.
Police believe the bomb was set up by al Shabaab militants operating within the expansive Boni Forest.
The injured were rushed to hospital. No arrest had been made.
KDF said in a statement the soldiers were on patrol along the Milimani Bare road when they ran over an IED.
“KDF condemns the criminals who disrupt movement, and sabotage socioeconomic stability in the area. Further, KDF calls upon residents to share information with the security agencies on these criminal elements who lurk in their communities,” they said.
This came a day after a similar incident left two construction workers with life threatening injuries in Baragoni.
The two were Saturday injured after their vehicle ran over a bomb set on the road in Baragoni.
The vehicle was badly damaged, police said.
They were admitted to hospital in critical condition, police said.
A police operation mounted in the area minutes later did not bear any fruit as the gang behind the attack had escaped.
Police believe the terrorists behind the bomb were timing security vehicles that were to use the route.
In August, more than 10 people were killed in the area in separate terror attacks.
Dozens of houses were also burnt in the attacks.
A major operation is ongoing in the area to address al Shabaab related attacks, which happen because of others, the proximity to the main Kenya-Somalia border.
The area near the border with Somalia has suffered a series of terror attacks.
The state has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the area as part of efforts to enhance operations targeting the terrorists who hide in Boni forest.
The terrorists have been attacking places near the Kenyan border by using guns and explosives leaving dozens dead and many injured.
The recent attacks have forced the government to suspend plans to reopen the Kenya-Somalia border.
This has also affected various development projects at large.