Saturday September 15, 2018
Al-Shabab militants on Friday killed two civilians in Garissa county in northeast Kenya, a government official said. Northeastern
regional commissioner Mohamed Birik confirmed the incident at Handaro
saying a security operation was underway to try and arrest the militants
who were believed to be still hiding in the forest.
Eyewitnesses said about seven armed al-Shabab militants had stopped a
Garissa-bound commuter bus and ordered all non-locals (Christians) to
alight from the bus which had left Holugho town at 9 am and was heading
to Garissa when the incident happened at 11 am.
According
to the witnesses, the militants who were all speaking in Swahili
emerged from a nearby thicket where they intercepted the bus and ordered
the driver to stop before entering in. They then ordered commuters to
produce his identification card.
"The
three non-locals were then separated from the rest of us (Muslims)
before they were told to recite the Muslim Shahada and suratul Fatiha
(Quran verses), the complete seven verses," said the teacher who refused
to be identified.
Only one of them
managed to do all the verses. He was left while his two colleagues, a
bus conductor identified only as Joshua and the other a casual laborer
had their hands tied before being executed. After committing the heinous act, the militants then escaped to unknown location.
"These
militants were seven in number. They were all conversing in Swahili
with one guy who resembled like a person from the Arab origin. They
never seem to be in a hurry even as they went about carrying out the
exercise," said the teacher.
The
incident comes after the regional government announced the recruitment
of the Kenya police reservists in all the 60 locations across the region
to enhance border patrols.
Islamist militants have staged a string of attacks in Kenya, including
the April 2, 2015 massacre at Garissa University that left 148 students
dead and a 2013 assault on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall that killed
67.
The East African nation
continues to suffer several attacks as terrorists change tuck to beat
heightened security and carry on with their heinous acts undetected.
In
the recent past, there have been numerous attacks involving landmines,
grenades, or other explosive devices in Mandera, Wajir and Garissa
counties by the insurgents.