Al Shabaab Terrorists Raid Elwak Hospital, Terrorise Guards
More security personnel were sent to Elwak, Mandera County after gunmen suspected to be al Shabaab militants raided a local hospital and terrorized guards on duty.
The incident happened on Saturday April 13.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is usually breached by the terrorists.
Guards at the Elwak Referral Hospital reported they were on duty when four men armed with rifles and in military attire walked to their sentries.
They had gained entry after cutting part of the fence around the hospital.
They then held the guards hostage demanding to know the whereabouts of the doctors at the facility.
They slapped the guards while demanding the information.
After they failed to get any doctor on duty, they left towards Burahache area.
Police visited the area and established the gang gained entry into the facility through the chain link fence, which had some openings and were porous.
Police say they have increased operations in the area to address terror threats in the area.
Police have been staging operations in the region to downgrade the activities of the terrorists.
On March 24, Kenyan Special Forces staged an ambush on an al Shabaab temporary camp near the Kenya border past Hagardera refugee camp.
Officials said two al Shabaab fighters were critically injured but managed to escape.
During the successful operation, the team recovered Improvised Explosive Devices making materials, an AK47 rifle, two magazines, porches and assorted foodstuffs.
At least three experts in assembling the explosives managed to escape, police said.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals. Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
The area is near the Somalia border and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping back.
Al-Shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region, especially in Mandera and Garissa counties after breaching security zones, which left dozens of civilians and security officials dead and wounded.
The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by the security agencies.
Kenyan troops are in Somalia to pursue and suppress the activities of the terror group.