MANDERA, Kenya- At least eight people, including engineers and Kenya Police Reservists, have been killed after gunmen ambushed a security vehicle escorting road construction workers in Mandera County.
The Tuesday morning attack occurred at Koromey, near Hagarsu along Arabia Road, where the team was working on the Mandera–Arabia–Lafey road project.
Preliminary police reports indicate that five engineers and two Kenya Police Reservists attached to the security detail died at the scene.
The driver of the security vehicle, who was initially rushed to Mandera County Teaching and Referral Hospital with critical gunshot wounds, later succumbed to the injuries.
The attack has put renewed focus on the risks facing workers deployed to build key infrastructure in Kenya’s volatile north-eastern border region.
Construction team targeted under escort
Police said armed assailants opened fire on the vehicle escorting engineers and other staff working along the road corridor.
A senior officer said additional security personnel had been deployed to pursue the attackers and secure the area.
Authorities had not publicly identified the assailants or established the full circumstances surrounding the attack by the time of publication.
The assault appears to have specifically targeted the security convoy accompanying the construction team, underlining the growing challenge of protecting workers and equipment on infrastructure projects near the Kenya–Somalia border.
The Mandera–Arabia, Arabia–Fino and Fino–Lafey roads are among the transport routes listed under Mandera County’s roads and public-works programme.
Border tension rises
The attack comes days after suspected militants struck security installations in Garissa and Mandera counties.
On November 7, gunmen fired at Hulugho Police Station and the Gesreb Special Operations Group Camp in Hulugho Sub-County, Garissa. Police said officers repulsed the attackers, with no casualties or property damage reported in the initial incident report.
Later that night, security personnel at Damasa Forward Operating Base in Mandera detected six suspected al-Shabaab militants approaching the camp near the Kenya–Somalia border.
Officers engaged the group after spotting them through drone surveillance, and the suspects withdrew after exchanging gunfire with security personnel.
The latest ambush has heightened concern that armed groups are increasingly testing security deployments while threatening the construction of roads intended to improve movement, trade and access to services across the region.
