Five killed in Garissa gun attack

By CYRUS OMBATI

Garissa, Kenya: At least five people have been shot dead and four others seriously wounded when gunmen attacked a hotel in Garissa Town. Among the dead is a woman and a local deputy officer in-charge of prisons department who was in the hotel at the time of the incident.

The three are said to have been patrons at the joint in the area when gunmen stormed in and opened fire at about 7.30 pm on Wednesday evening.  The dead include a manager and two patrons.

 The motive of the attack is yet to be known. Police who arrived at the scene confirmed the three died on the spot while those wounded were rushed to hospital as tension remained high.

 Police believe the attack is the work of sympathisers of Somalia’s Al-Shabaab militants operating in the town.

 Newly posted provincial police boss Charlton Mureithi said they were yet to make an arrest in connection with the latest attack.

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 The incident is the latest in a series of attacks that have occurred in the area linked to the terror group.

 Last Friday, two people were shot and killed by gunmen in Bagale area along the Nairobi-Garissa highway.

 The victims were in a bus that was headed for Mandera when gunmen who were in a Probox car opened fire at them killing two and injuring three others, police said.

 Police in the larger North Eastern region are on high alert following reports that contingents of militants from Somalia have sneaked into the country with a mission to kill and maim.

 Kenya has experienced a series of gun attacks and explosions after its troops rolled into Somalia last year to hunt down Al-Shabaab militants who had been blamed for several insecurity incidents.

It is believed the attacks are being committed by remnants of the terror group.