NAIROBI (SD) – At least one al-Shabaab fighter has been killed and another one was captured after Kenya military ambushed the militants in Mandera county near Kenya-Somalia border.
Reports say Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) on Saturday evening engaged the militants in an area between Guticha and Olla villages in north of Mandera town.
The forces displayed the body of the neutralised militant and the other one who arrested during the operation.
Destruction of Communication Mast
The development comes barely a week after Mandera governor said al-Shabaab had infiltrated the region and were terrorizing the residents in the county.
He accused Kenyan security agencies of doing little to thwart their operations despite the heavy presence of security personnel in the region.
The claims by the governor were dismissed by Kenya interior ministry which described as “regrettable remarks”.
Last Wednesday, gunmen believed to Al-Shabaab militants attacked and destroyed a communication mast in Sarman area in Mandera County, some 200km away from the border.
According to Kenya police record, the incident was the 12th since the beginning of this year in Mandera which has left more than three people dead, three abducted and property destroyed.
Kenya Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i is expected to meet the area leaders soon over a security challenges.
The insecurity in the county has disrupted the normal lives of residents and forced hundreds of non-locals including teachers, doctors and other casual workers to flee the region.
Al-Shabaab militant group has been carrying out attacks in Mandera and other town along the border since 2011 when Kenya sent its troops to Somalia.
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