Security personnel in Kenya's North-Eastern Region of Borehole 11 had an action-packed morning on Tuesday, December 15 as suspected Al Shabaab insurgents attacked security installations in the area.
There was heavy explosions and gunshots as a newly constructed police station and other houses were bombed to the ground.
The offices had been constructed with CDF funds in an effort to boost security in the area which is prone to bandit attacks. No death or injuries have been reported but unconfirmed reports indicate some residents are yet to be accounted for.
The attack came days after dozens of Somalia’s al Shabaab militants were suspected to have crossed into Kenya using Hamey, Amuma and Homojo routes in Garissa County.
Reports indicated that a leader of the militants, Maulid Abdi Hussein from Sedahgoseh in Somalia, had preached at a local mosque in Degathe and vowed to cross to Kenya to coordinate attacks on Kenyans.
About 40 militants armed with AK-47s, three PKM machine guns and seven rocket-propelled grenade launchers fired several rounds in the air before crossing over in three separate groups after the prayers.
Police believe the groups may already have been assigned targets which include communication masts, probing camps and implanting explosives on the roads.
In July, workers at a construction site at Borehole 11 in Mandera South survived a shooting incident by four armed men who raided their site.
The attacks have stalled development in the area with the building of Safaricom telecommunication masts suspended due to the frequency of attacks.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants. Operations were intensified in the area as part of efforts to deter any planned attacks in the area, according to local police boss Rono Bunei.
Shabaab insurgents have been attacking places in the region especially in Mandera and Garissa counties after breaching security zones as Kenyan troops continue to pursue and suppress insurgent activities in Somalia.
Borehole 11 is named after a freshwater borehole constructed with the help of the Red Cross in 2007 in a drought mitigation operation proved so powerful that an entire village sprung around it.
