01 Jun 2017 | 09:41 AM UTC
Kenya: Roadside bomb kills eight in Lamu district May 31
A roadside IED kills seven police officers and one civilian in Lamu district near the border with Somalia on May 31; Al- Shabaab suspected
Event
Seven police officers and a civilian were killed in the coastal Lamu district, near the Somali border, by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) on Wednesday, May 31. The officers were attacked while traveling in an armored vehicle to the nearby city of Mokowe. According to a police spokesperson, further attacks are likely during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan (May 26 to June 25). No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although Al-Shabaab is highly suspected.
Context
Between May 24 and May 25, 14 police officers were killed in three separate attacks in Mandera and Garissa counties, both located near the border with Somalia. Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for all three attacks.
Al-Shabaab regularly carries out attacks in Kenya’s northeast, near the porous border with Somalia where the group is based, as well as coastal areas popular with tourists and the capital Nairobi. The militant group has been effectively at war with the country since Kenyan forces engaged in the international fight against the terrorist group beginning in October 2011. Al-Shabaab, which seeks to topple Somalia's government and impose its own harsh interpretation of Sharia law, says it will continue to attack Kenya until Nairobi withdraws its troops from the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Advice
Individuals in Kenya are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the relevant authorities and be particularly cautious when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (government buildings, places of worship, tourist sites, etc.). Due to these and other security concerns, many Western governments advise against travel to a number of regions in the country, including areas bordering Somalia (parts of Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, and Lamu counties), Ethiopia, and South Sudan, as well as nonessential travel to the city of Mombasa. Several Nairobi neighborhoods, including Eastleigh and Pangani, are also best avoided.
