EL-WAK – A bomb attack orchestrated by Al-Shabaab militants using an improvised explosive device carried by a donkey rocked El-Wak town, resulting in the tragic deaths of 12 individuals near an Equity Bank branch, as eyewitnesses recounted.
Among the casualties were confirmed to be 10 non-local Christians and 2 Muslims, reports from various sources suggested a deliberate targeting of non-locals by the assailants who were mainly teachers and healthcare workers.
Information gathered points to the explosive device being strategically placed in the central business district close to the Administrative Police post, with the wounded swiftly evacuated to hospitals for urgent medical attention.
Following the attack, businesses, including banks, in the area opted to suspend their operations to allow security agencies to carry out investigations while also intensifying efforts to locate and apprehend the culprits, prompting the town to be barricaded by the security teams.
“Due to an explosion incident today in Elwak Town, Equity Bank wishes to announce the temporary closure of our Elwak Branch in Mandera County to ensure the safety of our staff and premises,” a statement from the bank read.
While there have been unverified reports of a heavy exchange of gunfire between the police and alleged Al-Shabaab militants, an official confirmation is still pending, although the nature of the attack strongly implicates the militants.
Initial assessments of the situation suggest that the attack was specifically aimed at residences inhabited by teachers and healthcare professionals, a majority of whom are non-locals in the area comprising educators, medical workers, and laborers.
Notably, this incident marks the first hostile activity by the militants in the region in recent months, a development that coincides with the successful capture of a senior Al-Shabaab figure named Abu Mahir in Lamu County, along the coastal region of the country.
AXADLETM
