NAIROBI—Kenya had intelligence that Al Shabab was to launch attack on the Kenyan soil but it was not sufficient to act on, the National Government spokesman Erik Kiraithe said Thursday in Nairobi
Reacting to questions from journalist on why the government could not avoid the attack, Kiraithe said the intel was not enough to prevent the attack.
“Yes we had intelligence that Al-Shabaab terrorists were targeting government agencies and civilians, but it was not enough to go by,” he defended.
On Thursday at 2. 40 am, a continent of Al Shabab militants descended on a building that housed government workers who were asleep.
The group killed five of the occupants on the spot while the sixth victim died while receiving medication at the hospital. More than 25 others escaped.
Police reservists on patrol responded to the gunshots and engaged the militants who the government says crossed over to Somalia side of the porous border.
Kiraithe said it was the general intel they received about the impending attack that saved the day.
“The attackers escaped through the border following an effective response from our security forces,” he added.
This latest attack will raise more question about the effectiveness of the border wall to prevent the terrorist from crossing over to the Kenyan side, launch attack and slip back to Somalia.
“I want to assure all Kenyans that the wall project is still ongoing but it will not solve all our terrorism problems,” he said.
Mandera and other adjacent towns of Garissa and Wajir in the northern Kenya region that borders Somalia have often been targeted by Al shabaab.
The militants argue the incessant raids will continue until Kenya withdraws its troops from Somalia where they are part of the African Union force (AMISOM).
Kenya shares a porous border with Somalia which security experts say has contributed to the relentless Al-Shabaab assaults.
