Four Family Members Killed After Vehicle Runs over an Explosive in Garissa

Four people were killed on Thursday after a vehicle they were traveling in ran over an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Garissa County.

The four, all members of the same family, died on the spot while the fifth occupant survived with serious injuries.

The Star reported that the family members were headed to Holugho from Masalani when the incident happened at the border of Bura East and Hulugho sub-county.

Confirming the 12:30 pm incident, Bura East Deputy County Commissioner Thomas Bett said the bodies of the deceased were taken to Sangailu awaiting postmortem.

Thursday’s incident is the third IED attack in Kenya since late January. Seven people were killed after a bus traveling in Mandera County ran over a landmine on January 31st while four others died in another IED attack in Wajir on February 2nd. The three attacks happened in an area along Kenya’s border with Somalia.

Al Qaeda-linked group Al-Shabaab has carried out several attacks inside Kenya in retaliation for the country sending troops into Somalia10 years ago as part of an African Union force to degrade the jihadists.

The militia group controls a swathe of southern Somalia from where it frequently launches attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere, with the intention of overthrowing the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.