Police officers feared dead after vehicle runs over IED
Dadaab Deputy County Commissioner Kipkirui Siele confirmed the incident.
Several police officers are feared dead after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) in Garissa County.
Dadaab Deputy County Commissioner Kipkirui Siele confirmed the incident on Tuesday morning, saying it took place on the Dadaab-Garissa Road.
Mr Siele said the Border Patrol Unit (BPU) officers from Abdi Suku camp were travelling to Garissa.
“We have reports of a police vehicle hit by an explosive, but I am yet to know the exact number of casualties,” Mr Siele said by phone.
Pictures seen by Nation.Africa showed an intensively damaged police vehicle, bodies and a huge depression in the road.
Several such incidents have been reported in different parts of the country over the years, the enemy being Somali terror group al-Shabaab.
Recent attacks in Lamu and Garissa counties have forced security agencies to suspend construction of a crucial road linking Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Work on the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) corridor project was suspended in January and workers asked to stay away for at least six weeks.
A security operation was launched in the area to flush out the militants believed to be operating from Boni Forest in Lamu County.
Since September, at least 30 deaths have been recorded in suspected terror attacks on the project and its workers, seven of them in December alone. There have been seven attacks since December 8, which left at least 14 people dead and valuables destroyed.
On January 17, a convoy carrying workers, which had military escort, was attacked. Three vehicles were damaged after being hit by explosives at Algeis Malhadhon Adam near Bodhai police camp, and reports said six people died.
On the same day, two soldiers were injured in an explosion on the Garissa-Hulugho road. The incident happened between Hulugho and Mchanga Nyekundu, when an armoured personnel carrier (APC) hit a roadside explosive.
The driver of the APC lost both legs, while a gunner sustained internal injuries that left him unconscious. They were both flown to Nairobi for specialised treatment.
