MANDERA, Kenya — Kenya’s elite Special Operations Group (SOG) has foiled an attempted cross-border infiltration by suspected Al-Shabaab fighters, killing two and critically injuring four others in a coordinated ambush operation.
According to the Counter Terrorism Policing unit, the intelligence-led operation was executed during Eid celebrations, with officers intercepting the militants near Sarira in Mandera County.
“As Kenyans were engaged in Eid celebrations, our brave and resilient SOG officers undertook an intelligence-led operation… using aerial intelligence assets to track the radical elements,” the agency said in a statement Tuesday.
Security officers reportedly laid an ambush on the outskirts of Sarira, engaging the suspected militants in a firefight that left two dead and four critically injured. The remaining fighters are said to have retreated into Somalia under sustained pressure.
The operation comes amid renewed focus on border security as William Ruto prepares to reopen the Mandera border post in April, a move aimed at reviving trade and reconnecting families separated by years of closure.
“It is unacceptable that fellow Kenyans in Mandera remain cut off… We cannot trade with closed borders,” Ruto said during a recent visit, pledging to oversee the reopening personally.
The Kenya-Somalia border crossing has remained largely closed since 2011 following repeated terror attacks linked to Al-Shabaab.
Previous attempts to reopen it, including engagements between former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in 2022, failed to materialise.
Ruto has since pledged enhanced security measures, including doubling the number of police officers deployed in the region to prevent infiltration while allowing legitimate cross-border trade to resume.
“We will deploy adequate security to ensure that criminals and insurgent groups do not infiltrate… Leave the insurgents to us; we will deal with them,” he said.
Authorities have also called on local residents and leaders to cooperate with security agencies by sharing intelligence to help prevent attacks.
