Al-Shabaab attackers kill six in dawn raid in Mandera

Police officers prepare to enter a residential plot in Bulla, Mandera County on October 6, 2016 to retrieve bodies of six people killed in a dawn attack by suspected Al-Shabaab militants. 27 people were rescued from the building following the attack. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Roba said that out of 33 non-locals residing in one plot, six were shot dead while security officers rescued 27 others.
  • Following the attack, police immediately embarked on a mission to retrieve the six bodies.
  • But as they attempted to enter the building, a device exploded ripping off the roof of the house.

Six people have been killed in Mandera County in an early morning attack by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.

The attack happened at 2.45am Thursday in Bulla, near Survey, Mandera Governor Ali Roba confirmed.

Mr Roba said that out of 33 non-locals residing in one plot, six were shot dead while security officers manning the area rescued 27 others.

“This is yet another sad attack in Mandera where six have been confirmed killed [and] one seriously injured. This incident is the first [one] in Mandera Town [in] the last one year,” said Governor Roba.

He sent condolences to the families of the deceased while at the same time thanking security agencies for their quick response following the attack.

RETRIEVE BODIES

Following the attack, police immediately embarked on a mission to retrieve the six bodies.

But as they attempted to enter the building, a device exploded ripping off the roof of the house.

Mandera County Commissioner Frederick Shisia said they working on switching off communication networks to allow police to enter the building as they feared more explosives were in the house.

In September, security was heightened in Mandera after Al-Shabaab militants overran a Somali military camp near the Kenyan border.

Mr Shisia, then, said Kenyan security agents had been put on high alert because the militants were using military uniforms and vehicles stolen from the Kenyan army.