Friday July 12, 2024
by CYRUS OMBATI
Police said they recovered assorted weapons from the suspects in the clash.
FILE - An aerial view of Mandera town. NMG
At least five suspected al Shabaab terrorists were killed in a clash with police in Guba, Elwak, Mandera county.
Police said they expect the death toll on the suspected terrorists’ side to increase as they found traces of blood leading to the main Kenya-Somalia border.
The incident happened on Thursday, July 11 evening as a team from Special Operations Group pursued suspected terrorists who had been sighted in the area.
The officers were ambushed prompting a bloody clash.
Police said they recovered assorted weapons from the suspects in the clash.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is usually breached by terror groups who come and attack the region and escape back.
Police said the SOG team had trailed the terrorists for hours before an ambush happened.
At least four members of SOG were seriously wounded in the attack, officials said.
The other members put up a fight that lasted hours to the night.
Since it was late, there was no immediate response to help the injured because of the risk of running into more trouble.
A chopper was later dispatched to the area to pick up the injured, police said.
Police said they “expect casualties on both sides” without elaborating.
The police operations in the area have thwarted planned attacks in Kenya.
For instance, on May 22, multi-agency teams stopped a major planned terrorist attack and recovered an arsenal of weapons in an operation in Alango, Garrissa.
Police said the team recovered six AK47 rifles, two Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), PKM, two grenades other items.
The team also found warheads, 20 magazines, a belt of 200 rounds, a cell phone and a memory Card.
This is after the team raided an al Shabaab camp in Alango in Garissa which militants planned to use to launch attacks in the County.
More personnel have been deployed in the area to tame the attacks.
Residents have always been urged to work with security agencies to tame the trend.