Kenya: Roadside bomb kills four in Mandera county June 16

Event

Four people were killed along the Elwak-Mandera road (Mandera county) by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) on Friday, June 16. The vehicle was carrying 15 people on board; 11 people were reportedly injured in the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, although Al-Shabaab is strongly suspected.

Context

Over the past month, similar explosions have killed at least 34 people, including 20 police officers. These attacks have been concentrated in Mandera and Garissa counties, both located near the border with Somalia.

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.