Two police officers are nursing crucial injuries after an Improvised explosive device (IED) disguised as luggage transported by a donkey cart exploded in the Ina Bari area in Mandera County.
One officer died at the spot in the Thursday, January 18 incident.
According to police reports, cops at the Mandera border crossing point stopped the animal to inspect the goods said to be fueled products, before the explosives detonated.
Other reports alleged that the donkeys were driven by a suspected member of the Al Shabab militia who jumped off and escaped before triggering the explosive.
Mandera County Commissioner Amos Mariba confirmed the incident and suspected that the devices were remotely controlled by the militia.
Two of the donkeys sustained severe burns, while the other one escaped with minor injuries.
“At about 10 am we had an incident in which we lost an officer and two others were seriously injured," Mariba stated.
“Authorities are swiftly responding to the incident, conducting investigations to ascertain the details surrounding the attack,” he added, indicating that they launched investigations into the incident.
The police added that they heightened security in the area and were on the lookout for other planned attacks.
“This same donkey cart had gone through a security check on the Somalia side of the border only for the device to explode on our officers. That shows our officers were the target," Mariba added.
Police already identified the suspects linked to the incident and planned to zero in on their locations to flush them out.
GSU officers were on January 4, 2023, involved in another IED explosion at Banane Area, Liboi Sub County in Garissa while on their way to pick up off-duty officers.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) condemned the attack on police officers, equating it to challenging the country’s sovereignty.
