On January 23, The Kenya Defense Forces conducted an ambush raid on Al-Shabaab militants, killed on terror operative and arrested another in a village in Mandera county, northeastern prefecture of Kenya.
The operation took some minutes between Guticha and Olla village in Mandera North according to reports.
Mandera county lately has witnessed Al-Shabaab resurgence that according to intelligence reports indicate, a number of attacks especially on telecommunication masts which have become so frequent are linked with some politicians in the porous county.
Mandera county Governor Ali Roba recently issued alarming remarks to the effect that Al-Shabaab is controlling 50% of the northeastern county; these claims are outrageous. Kenyan security agencies have refuted Roba’s claims, terming them baseless and untrue. Terror threat in Kenya’s NEP has significantly been reduced by concerted counterterrorism operations over the recent years though a few low-scale cases of terrorism continue to be reported. Travelers and telecommunication masts have become easy targets of the Islamist Al-Shabaab in NEP counties bordering Somalia.
Currently, there is a team of the Special Forces working in NEP region, with some operating from various Forward Operating Bases, including the recently launched Modika Barracks in Garissa. The FOB also gives cover-up for the KDF soldiers working in Somalia.
