Police recover Al-Shabaab IED targeting passengers in Kenya
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Staff Reporter Garowe Online
- Posted On 12-10-2023, 01:23PM
NAIROBI, Kenya - Police officers in Kenya foiled a would-be deadly Al-Shabaab attack on Monday, details have emerged, after detecting an Improvised Explosive Device [IED] in Dadaab, which was targeting passengers using PSVs within the porous region within Garissa County.
The bomb had been set up by suspected Al-Shabaab militants who have been fighting both in Somalia and parts of Kenya, targeting security forces and innocent civilians. The Al-Shabaab militants are fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia.
According to witnesses, the Al-Shabaab planted the IED along Abdisugow Road in Tawfiq village but hawk-eyed security officers detected the bomb before redirecting PSVs to safer routes as they detonated the bomb through experts from the Bomb Disposal Unit.
Officials said the bomb would have caused much destruction and deaths. The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is usually breached by al-Shabaab terrorists who attack and maim many but elite police officers have lately intensified patrols in the region.
Elsewhere, not far from Dadaab, a multi-agency security team raided an al-Shabaab logistical base in Amuma in Garissa and recovered foodstuffs. The food included maize flour and sugar water. Officials said the logistics served the terrorists' explosive experts newly deployed from Somalia to attack security personnel in the region using IEDs.
The incident came as several passengers narrowly escaped death after they were attacked by gunmen believed to be members of the terror group at Bukuree Dam along the Garissa-Hulugho road.
Kenya has deployed Special Forces from the Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] to Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, and Lamu counties, where the Al-Shabaab have been targeting in recent weeks. The team will join multi-agency security teams who have been combing the region.
GAROWE ONLINE
