A group of unidentified gunmen ambushed a vehicle bound for Mandera and peppered it with bullets on Monday.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, a journalist based in the county, Dickson Githaiga, affirmed the incident, adding that no casulaties were recorded.
"The incident happened near Bambo Village between Rhamu-Elwak in Mandera county but no one was injured," he divulged.
Eyewitness reports claimed that the vehicle first triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) before the suspected Al Shabaab militiamen emerged from the bushes and sprayed it with bullets.
Githaiga claimed that the assailants targeted the vehicle because it was the Toyota Landcruiser model that was always used by Kenyan security forces while escorting public service vehicles as well as used during regular patrols.
However, the car belonged to a civilian, Abbas Jet who coincidentally survived a similar attack in the same area after being mistaken for a security officer on patrol a while ago.
The startled driver made the revelation after making his way to the Mandera Police Station to report the chilling incident.
The latest attack in the area comes barely 24 hours since Mandera County police boss, Jeremiah Kosiom, declared the suspension of all public transport following intelligence reports of an impending attack.
Reports indicated that suspected Al Shabaab militia had been spotted along the Rhamu-Elwak road.
“We received information that suspected al-Shabaab militants, who were targeting public transport, had been sighted along the Mandera-Rhamu-Elwak road on Sunday.” Kosiom divulged to the Nation.
Coincidentally, less than two weeks ago, General Service Unit (GSU) officers attached to Mandera Police Station escaped death by a whisker after their vehicle triggered an IED within the same area.
