The identities of the five men who
were killed by al Shabaab terrorists in Mandera were revealed after
their families were informed.
Police said the victims and some of those injured were flown to
Nairobi for preservation and further action.
The five quarry workers were killed on Tuesday, April 29, in the morning attack while on the way to their workplace in Bur Abor Village in Mandera East, Mandera County.
The police said the deceased had left town without security, as has been the norm. They were all in a matatu.
The matatu driver and his turnboy were detained for questioning, police said
Police in the area linked the attack on suspected al-Shabaab militants who had been spotted in the area.
They were identified as Mbaabu Karuma, Stephen Mambo, Evas Simiyu, Bernard Masika and George Kilobi.
All the victims were non-locals who were working at a quarry for a living.
Police who visited the scene said 39 empty cartridges of 7.62 special and two live rounds were recovered.
Those injured were identified as Joseph Nduati, who has a gunshot wound on his left arm and multiple soft tissues, and Peter Maina, who complained of general body pain.
The other 13 who escaped the attack are all accounted for after they were traced in the bushy terrain.
The driver and his co-driver, who were supposed to carry the security with them but did not, were arrested and placed in custody to assist with the investigation, police said.
The victims have been excavating stones for construction in the area.
Witnesses said the militants ambushed a vehicle with the workers by blocking the road with stones before embarking on their mission.
The workers usually spend the nights in Mandera town for security reasons before they are picked up from the quarries.
Some workers managed to escape. Most of the quarries in the area are dominated by nonlocals.
Security teams who were patrolling the area responded to the scene but found the gang had escaped.
Tension mounted in the area as security officials arrived in search of the gang behind the attack.
This is not the first time such an incident has happened in the area amid operations to address al-Shabaab threats.
Witnesses said the attackers were armed with rifles when they struck and ordered the workers to lie down.
They then shot them at close range.
Blood stains caked where the bodies lay before police arrived and picked them to the mortuary.
Police headquarters said a reinforcement had been sent to the area to pursue the matter.
The killings have caused widespread fear and tension among residents in the village, with security authorities rushing to the scene to begin investigations.
This comes amid security concerns that the terror group and Yemen’s Ansar Allah rebels have struck an alliance that threatens to destabilise more of the Red Sea region, along with parts of the Horn of Africa.
At the heart of the alliance and concerns is that al-Shabaab has money and needs weapons to fight the Somali government.
The Ansar Allah rebels, known as the Houthis, have weapons and need money to operate in parts of northwestern Yemen where they are the de facto government and allies.
