Four people were killed and 33 others were rescued by police during a suspected Al Shabaab attack at Shimbir Fatuma in Mandera South.
The incident took place on Thursday evening at a quarry and the victims are said to have been miners.
There are claims that the quarry workers had earlier defied government orders to vacate the area following increased cases of Al Shabaab attacks.
Security teams comprising the Kenya Defence Forces soldiers, Regular Police and police reservists were immediately sent to the area to pursue the attackers.
[caption caption="File Photo of Al Shabaab Militants"]
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In May 2017, two miners were killed at another quarry in Qalengelesa around the same area.
Elwak OCPD Charles Chacha revealed that the two were in a group of five who sneaked back to the quarry after a police operation.
Apparently, mining still takes place at night despite the government banning the activity in areas near the Kenya-Somalia border.
In 2014, after 36 miners were killed by Al-Shabaab militants at a Koromey quarry, the government banned stone mining at night.
During the incident, the attackers surrounded the camp, roused the sleeping workers and ordered those who could not prove they were Muslims to lie on the ground before spraying them with bullets.
Police have urged residents of the area to keep off the mining sites are they are prone to attacks.
[caption caption="File Photo of a mine in Mandera"]
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