Monday, December 28, 2015

Somalia: Al Shabaab Islamists Claim Deadly Ambush in Northeastern Kenya
Vehicle sprayed with police bullets in Mandera, Kenya.
Shabelle News Network

The Somali Islamist group al Shabaab said it ambushed a Kenyan security vehicle in remote northeastern Kenya on Sunday, killing four members of the security forces.

The Kenyan Red Cross said in a post on Twitter that two police officers had been killed and two others injured, while a Kenyan police spokesman said he was unaware of the attack.

"Security has been beefed up in the region. Tension remains high," the Red Cross said.

Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military spokesman, told Reuters the militants had ambushed the car on the main road in Mandera County, on the Somali border, killing four Kenyan soldiers, and seizing their weapons.

The statement made no mention of police.

Al Shabaab and officials often given conflicting details and death tolls.

Al Shabaab, which seeks to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government and impose a strict version of Sharia law, has carried out regular assaults in neighbouring Kenya in retaliation for Kenya contributing troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

The attack in Mandera County came two days after al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda, targeted two Kenyan security vehicles in Lamu County, killing at least one police officer.


Al-Qaida-linked Somalia militants claim killing four security troops in northeast Kenya ambush

REUTERS
DEC 28, 2015

MOGADISHU – The Somali Islamist group al Shabaab said it ambushed a Kenyan security vehicle in remote northeastern Kenya on Sunday, killing four members of the security forces.

The Kenyan Red Cross said in a post on Twitter that two police officers had been killed and two others injured, while a Kenyan police spokesman said he was unaware of the attack.

“Security has been beefed up in the region. Tension remains high,” the Red Cross said.

Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military spokesman, told Reuters the militants had ambushed the car on the main road in Mandera County, on the Somali border, killing four Kenyan soldiers, and seizing their weapons.

The statement made no mention of police.

Al Shabaab and officials often given conflicting details and death tolls.

Al Shabaab, which seeks to overthrow Somalia’s Western-backed government and impose a strict version of Sharia law, has carried out regular assaults in neighboring Kenya in retaliation for Kenya contributing troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

The attack in Mandera County came two days after al Shabaab, which has links to al-Qaida, targeted two Kenyan security vehicles in Lamu County, killing at least one police officer.


KDF spray Probox with bullets, kill two in Mandera

By ISMAIL NOOR and WILLIAM MWANGI
The Kenya Star
Dec. 28, 2015, 3:00 pm

KDF soldiers sprayed a Probox car, whose driver defied orders to stop, with bullets killing two people in Mandera town on Monday.

The victims were identified as local footballer Abdirahman Rahoy, popularly known as Maney, and driver Adan Nyanya.

One died at the scene and the other while being taken to hospital.

Police said the two were suspected al Shabaab operatives who attempted to attack a vehicle with security personnel.

But an officer who was part of an anti-terror team that searched the vehicle said only the victims' IDs were found in it. He said no explosives were found.

The shooting took place in front of Green View hotel near Mandera miraa market as members of the public watched.

The residents, who said the two were innocent, demonstrated against the killings, burning tyres and blocking a road with stones.

Governor Ali Roba visited three people who were injured in the incident at Mandera County Referral Hospital.

He appealed for calm saying the matter was being handled as an emergency. The Governor, the county commissioner and other security officials met over the incident.

Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said the officers opened fire on the vehicle after receiving intelligence that the vehicle had explosives.

But Roba, who earlier visited the scene, said there were no explosives in the car, adding details do not add up,

"The government must launch an investigation and if found guilty, the officers should be brought to book," he said.

Mandera Township MCA Feisal Abdinoor and IG Joseph Boinnet urged locals and security forces to work together in the war against terrorism.

The incident follows the killing of officers by al Shabaab militants on Lafey-Elwak road in Mandera county on Sunday.

The Somalia-based group said said it ambushed a security vehicle killing four officers police sources said two officers were killed and two injured.

Two days earlier, the terror group targeted two security vehicles in Lamu county killing at least one police officer.

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