IED kills 4 aid workers near Kenyan-Somali border

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Four aid workers were killed on Tuesday in northern Kenya when their vehicle drove over a roadside bomb suspected to have been planted by Somalia-based al-Shabaab militants.

Confirming the attack to Kenya’s Capital FM, North Eastern Regional Commissioner Mohamud Saleh said, “We have four people dead from the incident that occurred between Dadaab and Doble” in Garissa County.

The slain aid workers were working for African Development Solutions ADESO, an NGO which delivers humanitarian aid across Africa.

Kenya has been rocked by similar improvised explosive device (IED) attacks which al-Shabaab militants from Somalia have claimed responsibility for, with at least 30 police officers killed by IEDs in recent months along the porous Kenya-Somali border.

Last week eight people, including seven police officers, were killed when their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in Kenya’s Lamu County.

Garissa county has been previously targeted by terrorists due to its close proximity to the Kenya-Somali border. In one notorious incident in 2015, gunmen stormed Garissa University, killing more than 140 students.

In previous years, the Somali-based al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab stepped up terror attacks in Kenya and Somalia during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.