Gunmen kill 8 people in ambush on road workers in Mandera, Kenya

Gunmen ambushed a security vehicle escorting road construction workers in Mandera County on Tuesday morning, killing at least eight people, police said.

The attack occurred at Koromey, near Hagarsu along Arabia Road, where assailants opened fire on the vehicle accompanying engineers and other staff working on the Mandera-Arabia-Lafey Road project. Seven people died on the spot, while the driver of the security vehicle sustained critical gunshot injuries and later succumbed while being rushed to Mandera County Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Preliminary police reports indicate that five of those killed were engineers involved in the road construction works, while two were Kenya Police Reservists attached to the security team protecting the workers.

A police officer confirmed the attack and said more personnel had been sent to the area to pursue the gang. The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is frequently breached by the al-Shabaab terror group for attacks in Kenya. Police said tension had been rising in the region amid fears of attacks by the terror group.