Several soldiers killed in Lamu as vehicle runs over explosives

An unspecified number of Kenya Defence Forces soldiers are feared dead and others injured, some critically, in a suspected al-Shabaab attack in Lamu's Boni Forest.

Confirming the incident on Monday, military spokesperson Brigadier Zipporah Kioko said the soldiers' vehicle was on normal patrol along the Milimani-Baure road when it ran over an improvised explosive device suspected to have been planted along the route by Al-Shabaab.

The attack took place on Sunday afternoon near the Bodhei-Majengo area along the Milimani-Baure road.

In a statement, Brigadier Kioko condemned criminals who disrupt movement and sabotage socio-economic stability in the area.

"On the 10th of September 2023, KDF soldiers on patrol along Milimani-Baure road in Lamu County ran over an IED. The injured were airlifted to Manda Base Hospital for medical attention," she said.

Following the incident, the KDF also called on residents to share information with security agencies about criminal elements lurking in their communities.

Sunday's incident came just hours after a contractor was seriously injured in the head and spine in another suspected al-Shabaab IED attack along the Hindi-Bar'goni road.

The contractor, identified as Hussein Abdi Maalim, 50, was on his way to Hindi town to buy supplies in his double-cabin vehicle when he ran over the IED, just about 2 kilometres from Bar'goni Primary School.

His nephew, who was also in the vehicle at the time of the attack, escaped unharmed and fled into the nearby forest before being rescued by security forces.

The vehicle was badly damaged.