Al Shabaab gunmen shot and killed one person and left three others with serious wounds in an ambush on a security team in Toka area, Garissa County.
According to police, the victim was among a group of National Police Reservists and those known as Macawisley when they were ambushed on Thursday September 4 at about 6 pm along the Hagadera–Biyamathobe road at Toka Junction.
Macawisley is a collection of clan-based militias based and operating in parts of north eastern and Somalia to bolster security. They collaborate with the security agencies in the area to combat the terror group.
Police said a member of the Macawisley was killed in the Thursday September 4 attack while their driver and two others were injured.
They were in a car when they were ambushed by the al Shabaab gunmen who had laid an ambush.
Police said a firefight ensued forcing the attackers to retreat. It was then that the deceased identified as Mahammud Zeylici was found to have been killed as those from the NPR joined in the fight.
The injured were evacuated to the local IRC hospital for treatment.
Witnesses said they were armed with rifles.
A major operation was launched in the area following reports the militants had been spotted there and plan to launch an attack, police said.
The area is seen as a breeding ground for the terror activities in the region.
The gang crosses from Somalia through the porous border before launching attacks that have crippled operations in much of urban areas in the region.
Kenya has reacted by among others deploying more personnel and deploying technology in the area to tame the threat and attacks.
Local sympathizers have been blamed for the attacks in the region which have always targeted security personnel and civil servants including teachers.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre’s military regime, which ushered in more than two decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines.
Efforts are ongoing to stabilise the country in vain.
