Failed bus attack in Kenya ‘linked to IS faction of al-Shabab’

The police chief, giving his new year message, urged Kenyans to remain vigilant as he said that there were about 100 al-Shabab fighters operating in the north-east of the country, Kenya’s Standard newspaper reports.

Two people were killed in the attack.

Reacting to the development, Anglican Bishop Julius Kalu of Mombasa said, “I think it’s an act of bravery for the Muslims who risked their lives to protect the Christians”.

Kenyan authorities on Thursday warned of the rising threat of a terrorist attack after a group of almost 200 al-Shabab militants broke ranks with al-Qaeda and pledge allegiance to IS.

The following month the BBC reported the militant group did the same to non-Muslim workers at a quarry near the Somali border.

Al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaeda, has been courted by the Iraq and Syria-based IS and its affiliates, which now include elements in Libya, Yemen, Egypt, West Africa and Afghanistan.

The bus was carrying more than 50 passengers when it was ambushed along the road between Kutulo and Daba villages in Mandera.

June 2014 – At least 48 people die after Islamist militants attack hotels and a police station in Mpeketoni, near the island resort of Lamu. The group had conducted a series of attacks since 2011 when Kenyan forces went into Somalia to combat the Somali extremists.

Last April, al-Shabab militants killed 148 people in an attack on Garissa University College.

According to CNN, most of the passengers were women.

“We Islamic scholars are warning against the celebration of such events which are not relevant to the principles of our religion”, Sheikh Nur Barud Gurhan said to reporters in the capitol Mogadishu, courtesy of the International Business Times.

He said the group that tried to hijack and attack a bus in El-Wak, Mandera on Monday was that of ISIS. Mandera is near the border with Somalia and Ethiopia.

But the police vehicle assigned to protect the bus broke down, according to Nkaissery, Kenya’s Interior Cabinet secretary. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page.