The Kenyan armed forces and police have been locked in a bitter war with Al-Shabaab terrorists in the country for the past several years [Xinhua]
Police in Kenya have said that at least six passengers were killed when terrorists fired on their buses in Nigeria’s northern Mandera County bordering Somalia.
An unknown number of people were also wounded in the attack believed to have been carried out by Somalia’s Al-Shabaab terrorist group, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, because it carries the hallmarks of a very similar attack against commuter buses in the same area in November 2014.
Attacks carried out by Al-Shabaab infiltrators are not uncommon in this border area. Last week, five policemen were killed in an attack also believed to be the work of Al-Shabaab.
In April 2015, more than 147 people were killed when Al-Shabaab terrorists stormed Garissa University near the Somali border in eastern Kenya and began “firing indiscriminately”.
Al-Shabaab leaders based in Somalia have waged a war against the UN and African Union forces for the past several years. They blame these organizations for supporting what they say is an illegitimate government in the capital Mogadishu.
In the past year, Al-Shabaab has launched suicide bombing campaigns against Somali and foreign officials.
The extremist group has targeted neighboring Kenya because of Nairobi’s support for the Mogadishu government, and its contribution to international forces there.
The Kenyan government in Nairobi has sought to shut down a refugee camp near the Somali border which it says has been used as a planning and staging area for the deadly attacks in the past two years.
Meanwhile, the US State Department issued a travel warning to northern and eastern Nigeria.
“Potential terrorist threats, such as bombings, kidnappings, and attacks on civil aviation, remain in Kenya, including within the Nairobi area, along the coast, and within the northeastern region of the country,” a State Department statement said.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
Source