MANDERA, Kenya — Kenyan security agencies have deployed dozens of specialised teams to Mandera County to pursue an armed gang linked to Al-Shabaab following a pre-dawn attack on a Chinese contractor’s residence in Elwak, near the Kenya–Somalia border.
Police say intelligence indicates the attackers retreated into Somalia territory after Tuesday’s assault and were regrouping with possible plans to relaunch attacks on security installations and critical infrastructure in the area.
The operation has drawn officers from multiple units, including the Border Patrol Unit (BPU), as authorities move to neutralise the threat and secure the border region.
“The motive of the December 16 attack was to kill the foreign workers and other Kenyans present and to disrupt ongoing road construction projects,” a senior security official familiar with the operation told reporters, adding that teams are “on the ground pursuing them for the safety of all.”
The attack occurred at about 1:00 a.m. when an estimated 50 armed militants stormed the residence of Chinese nationals located roughly one kilometre from Elwak Police Station.
Police said the assailants arrived in four Toyota Probox vehicles via Buraache along the porous border cutline routes, demolished the main gate, and damaged the perimeter barrier before opening fire.
Officers guarding the facility engaged the attackers in a prolonged exchange of gunfire, holding their ground until reinforcements arrived. Additional officers from the BPU joined the operation, securing all 10 Chinese nationals at the residence. No fatalities were reported.
However, property damage was extensive. Police said a service vehicle was damaged alongside five Toyota Hilux double-cab vehicles, a grader machine and a water bowser belonging to the Chinese company undertaking road works in the region. Authorities praised the officers’ response, crediting it with averting loss of life.
Police headquarters and local leaders commended the operation, describing it as a decisive response to a planned mass-casualty attack. “The attackers escaped after a long battle with the security teams present and those who responded,” police said in a brief, noting that armed protection has since been reinforced at contractors’ camps in the area.
Mandera and neighbouring counties have long been vulnerable to cross-border incursions by Al-Shabaab, which exploits difficult terrain and informal crossing points along the Kenya–Somalia frontier.
The group has previously targeted non-locals and infrastructure projects in the region, leaving several people dead and others injured in past incidents.
Kenya’s security posture along the border has remained heightened since the launch of Operation Linda Nchi in October 2011, when Kenyan forces crossed into Somalia following a series of abductions and attacks that threatened tourism and national security.
While Somalia continues to grapple with decades of instability following the 1991 collapse of its central government, militant groups have adapted tactics to sustain cross-border operations.
A recent analysis by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Centre of Excellence for Preventing Violent Extremism warned that Kenya faced heightened vulnerability to spillovers from neighbouring conflict zones between July and September, a trend extending into the final quarter of the year.
Although the overall scale of attacks has fluctuated, targeted and cross-border incidents have persisted, underscoring the resilience of extremist networks.
Security officials said operations in Mandera would continue, with surveillance and patrols intensified to disrupt militant movement and protect development projects. “We are enhancing operations along the border to avert continued attempts by Al-Shabaab to infiltrate the country,” police said, urging residents to remain vigilant and cooperate with authorities.
