A group of revelers were Monday April 7 injured when an explosion blew up a food joint in Mandera town.
Police said the explosion blew up the joint as those who were inside escaped with slight injuries.
Police and witnesses said the powerful explosion rocked Delicacy Food Hotel in Mandera, near the residence of a former senior local official.
It caused significant damage to the establishment.
It is not clear what caused the 1 pm incident.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border where al-Shabaab terrorists cross for attacks.
Police said they are investigating the incident.
This is the latest such incident to happen in the area amid operations to contain the trend.
It came as security teams enhanced operations in the area along the border amid fears of more attacks by the terror group.
It also came as a group of chiefs who had been abducted from Elwak area were released from Jilb, Somalia.
They were abducted in February 3 as they headed for a meeting in the area.
The group was set free from their captivity in Jilb on Sunday April 6, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said.
“The chiefs have been released and now in the hands of the Kenya authorities. They will soon join their families . Once chiefs are in the country we will share the measures put in place.”
“The country is facing constant threats to terrorism and our officers are doing a fantastic job to protect Kenyans without sharing the operations publicly,” he said.
Elders who participated in the negotiations leading to the release said the chiefs were freed on Sunday.
They were released and handed over to Garreh elders in Jilb, Somalia Sunday evening.
Plans to bring them back to Elwak, Kenya side were underway.
The five chiefs- Mohammed Adawa, Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Noor, Assistant Chief Ibrahim Gabow, and Senior Chief Abdi Suraw- were abducted after they were ambushed by suspected terrorists in Elwak, Mandera County on February 3, a day before President Ruto started his tour of the region.
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