Kenyan police repulse al-Shabab attack in border town

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-19 18:01:48|Editor: xuxin
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GARISSA, Kenya, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police on Monday thwarted an attack on a police camp by suspected al-Shabaab terrorists in Garissa county in the northeast part of the east African nation.

Mohamed Birik, Northeastern regional commissioner clarified that one al-Shabaab terrorist was killed and several escaped with serious injuries during the attack that was thwarted by the border patrol special forces.

Birik said the militants whose exact number was not known struck the camp at round midnight and proceeded to open fire indiscriminately at the police camp in Ijara but the officers responded swiftly and managed to kill one of them and injured several others.

"Our gallant officers reacted immediately the militants struck and engaged them in a fierce gun battle; they finally managed to repulse them. No officer was injured or killed," the regional government administrator said.

Birik, who did not state the identity of the slain militant however said that several of the insurgents escaped with serious injuries, adding that a contingent of security officers were busy trailing them.

The government official said efforts to 'vanquish and eliminate al-Shabaab in the region remains on course' adding that in the next few weeks more activities and engagements will be done.

According to police officers based in the area, the militants wanted to carry out a simultaneous attack on the police camp and the nearby Safaricom mast.

The militants usually destroy telecommunication mast to disrupt police response and communication in the area before they could inflict harm on the locals.

The incident comes barely two weeks after local government officials held a security meeting with the locals in the area which is near the Somali border to enhance security.

Ijara region has borne the brunt of al-Shabaab militants due to its proximity to Boni forest and Somalia where the militants carry out attacks before escaping back.

A number of security personnel have died as a result of the attacks, some of which included improvised explosive devices placed on roadsides by al-Shabaab militants.

The administrator said security forces have intensified patrols along the border with Somalia in the wake of terror attacks in the border region. This is the latest such incident in the area and no arrests have been made so far.

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