An unknown mission turned almost tragic after a
35-year-old man was seriously injured when a suspected improvised explosive
device (IED) he was carrying exploded in Mandera East on Friday evening.
The explosion was reported in the Bula Buruburu area, prompting police officers to rush to the scene.
Police identified the injured man as Adan Mohamed, who sustained severe injuries, including the complete severing of his right wrist.
A Tecno mobile phone and a metallic plate fragment were recovered at the scene, police said.
He was rushed to Mandera Teaching and Referral Hospital, where he was admitted in serious condition and is receiving treatment.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the suspected IED explosion.
The police want to know the motive behind the explosion and why the man was carrying it. It is suspected he was to set it up on the roadside and target vehicles.
The area has reported a surge in attacks linked to al-Shabaab gang in the recent months.
This has prompted operations.
Two weeks ago, a set up IED killed five members of the elite Special Operations Group and two members of the National Police Reserve in the area.
The attackers escaped amid heightened operations in the area which is near the porous Kenya-Somalia border.
Meanwhile, security officers repulsed an attack by suspected al-Shabaab militants who targeted the Special Operations Group (SOG) camp at Fino in Lafey Subcounty, Mandera county.
The militants reportedly approached the camp from the eastern side at around 9:45pm on Friday and fired one rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), followed by gunfire from AK-47 assault rifles.
The officers responded and engaged the attackers, forcing them to retreat.
No casualties were reported, and all officers at the camp were accounted for, according to the police.
The attack is under investigation as security agencies continue to intensify operations against al-Shabaab militants operating along the Kenya-Somalia border.
There are fears the gangs are still roaming in the area amid calls on locals to cooperate with security agencies to tame their activities.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre's military regime, which ushered in more than two decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines.
Kenya launched Operation Linda Nchi on October 14, 2011, after gunmen seized tourists at the Coast, which the Government saw as a threat to the country's sovereignty, as it targeted the nation's economic lifeline, which is tourism.
