Al-Shabaab attack in Wajir coordinated by local head teacher

WAJIR, Kenya - A primary school headteacher from Wajir in Northeastern Kenya has reportedly sneaked into Somalia after being linked to the recent deadly attack.

Mohammed Hussein Hassan, who teaches in a local school around the Kutulo area, is said to have coordinated Friday's attack that left 11 dead.

Intelligence reports indicate that Hassan had been hosting over 15 militants in his house where they planned and executed the attack.

With police officers on the militants' radar, a source said, the lead commander was tipped that majority of the passengers, who were non-locals, were police officers.

“He had been tipped that the bus was ferrying police officers back to their stations,” the source said in confidence.

The attack left eight police officers dead, two teachers and a doctor. The officers were headed to their work station in Laffey constituency, Mandera.

After being tipped about the possible arrest, intelligence reports according to the officer say, Hussein fled to neighboring Somalia.

His wife, the driver of the bus and the conductor are among 11 people who have been arrested. They are currently being investigated.

On Sunday, North Eastern regional commissioner Mohamed Birik hinted the possibility of local networks, arguing that the majority of the suspects could be local youths.

“We think there is local participation. This is not the first time local youths who have been recruited in the last four years have participated in such crimes,” he said.

“We are therefore taking action against individual families and persons whom we think had been hosting them (militants),” Birik told reporters.

The school headteacher is said to have hosted some of the militants since November when they are believed to have crossed to Kenya.

Deadly Special Forces from KDF have been deployed to comb the area. The military is in the process of nabbing more suspects.

The officers, the source added, could have survived had they chose to use a police vehicle that was available. They opted for public transport.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday said, "We shall not relent until those criminal elements and their collaborators are brought to book".

Al-Shabaab based in Somalia has since taken responsibility, accusing the Kenyan government of invading "Muslim lands and plunder".

“This attack is yet another message to the Kenyan government that their crusade citizens will never relish in safety as long it continues to occupy Muslim lands, plunder its resources and occupy its lands," they said in a statement.

This was not the first time the militants were targeting a passenger bus. In 2014, over 27 teachers were killed in Rhamu, Mandera by the militants.

GAROWE ONLINE