Cops repulse suspected terrorists who attacked station

Gunmen believed to be al Shabaab militants attacked the police station in Lafey, Mandera, before fleeing towards the main border.

The same gang staged similar probe attacks on Fino, Sheikh Barrow and Damasa Forward Operation Bases before retreating.

Police said the attacks using heavy weapons, which seemed to be simultaneous were aimed at probing their alertness ahead of a possible planned attack.

No injuries were reported on Wednesday, October 16, in the morning incident.

Officials said the shooting which involved AK47 rifles, PKM machine guns and Rocket Propelled Grenades lasted about ten minutes.

The gunmen escaped towards the Somalia border, said police.

This prompted more operations in the area as part of efforts to thwart any such planned attack.

“Whenever they stage a probe shooting this indicates they plan an attack. We are upping the operations in the area,” said a senior officer aware of the operations.

The police operations in the area have thwarted planned attacks in Kenya.

More personnel have been deployed in the area to tame the attacks.

Locals have always been urged to work with security agencies to tame the trend.

This is because such attacks cannot happen without the knowledge of the locals.

This comes amid heightened security following fears the terror group could be planning an attack after a long lull.

The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals.

Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.

The area is near the Somalia border and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping back.

Al Shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region, especially in Mandera and Garissa counties after breaching security zones, which left dozens of civilians and security officials dead and wounded.

The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by the security agencies.

Kenyan troops are in Somalia to pursue and suppress the activities of the terror group.

October 14 marked 13 years since the troops crossed into Somalia to fight the terrorists.

They have managed to stabilize some regions since then amid an ongoing fight from the terror group.