At least four civilians have been killed by unidentified attacker who assailed a vehicle with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns near the Kenya-Somali border, police in Mandera say.
The attack occurred on Thursday in Mandera, in Kenya's sparsely populated northeast, close to the porous borders with Ethiopia and Somalia.
"The vehicle was carrying eight people but four of them have died," a police officer in the region said on condition of anonymity.
The vehicle was reportedly carrying education and security officials transporting secondary school examination papers. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. But the blame and suspicion obviously goes to the insurgents in Somalia who have been battling the weak and western-backed transitional federal government of Somalia.
"We have just received reports that a grenade was hurled at a government vehicle, which was leaving Lafey and coming here to Mandera," a teacher at a Mandera school, who did not wish to be named, said.
Three other Mandera residents confirmed the incident adding they had heard reports of four deaths. A Kenyan Red Cross spokeswoman, said agency personnel who went to the site of the attack confirmed the number of casualties.
Kenyan authorities have tightened security after Somalia's al-Shabab threatened to attack the country in retaliation against its military offensive against them.
Nairobi was rocked this week by two grenade attacks that killed one person and wounded dozens. Kenyan security officials suspect al-Shabab, who have not claimed responsibility.
A Kenyan suspect arrested after two grenade blasts earlier this week in Nairobi admitted in court on Wednesday that he was involved in one of the attacks, and said he is a member of the Somalia-based armed group al-Shabab.
Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, 28, also known as Mohammed Seif, pleaded guilty to nine charges, including involvement in Monday's explosion at a busy bus stop which left one person dead and several more injured.
As a result of the security threats and the insurgent's vow to carry out retaliatory attacks on Kenya, the security personnels have started operations in Mandera to nab suspects. Many people inluding prominent clerics have been arrested in Mandera.
It’s becoming apparent that the attacks in Kenya are gaining intensity while the insurgents did not claim responsibility in the latest attacks.
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