Kenya: 12 killed In Extremist Attack

Gunmen from an extremist group killed 12 people in an attack targeting non-Muslims in Kenya’s northern Mandera County, near the Somali border, an official said on Tuesday.

Somali-based extremist group al-Shabaab is suspected of carrying out the early-morning attack on the Bishaaro Guest House, said Mohamed Saleh, Mandera’s regional commander.

The gunmen used grenades and improvised explosive devices to break into the guest house and then stormed in with guns, he said.

Al-Shabaab has vowed retribution on Kenya for sending troops into Somalia since 2011 to fight the militants, who are waging an insurgency against Somalia’s weak, Western-backed government. Kenyan security forces have managed to stop the wave of al-Shabab attacks in major cities in Kenya that have killed hundreds.

However, Mandera County remains a volatile area. Al-Shabaab militants hijacked a bus in Mandera in November 2014 and killed 28 non-Muslims on board. In December 2014 they killed 36 quarry workers. This year six people had previously been killed, in July when gunmen shot at buses and on October 6, when al-Shabaab gunmen targeted a residential compound full of non-Muslims.

The campaign of attacks targeting non-Muslims has had a devastating impact on education. Many non-Muslim teachers have asked to be transferred from the region, causing a crisis in learning as they form the backbone of the teaching community.