Two pupils found alive after Lamu blast

Injured victims of the IED explosion along the Mnarani-Kiunga road are being ferried to the Manda military health base in Lamu County on Tuesday 27th June,2017 evening. They were among survivors who escaped death when the lorry they were travelling in to Kiunga exploded after hitting an IED suspected to have been placed by Al shaabab militants.[Jane Mugambi,Standard]

Two missing teenage girls who were injured after a police vehicle was blown up by explosives in Lamu have been found.

The girls, aged 14 and 12, had gone missing after the attack on Tuesday. One of the girls sustained serious head injuries while the other had leg injuries.

There are reports that several victims are missing and remain unaccounted for close to 48 hours after the attack.

Some civilians and police officers later emerged at the Mararani Rural Border Patrol Unit camp with injuries.

Officers airlifted

Seven police officers who were injured were yesterday airlifted to Nairobi together with four bodies of officers who died in the blast after their vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Devise.

Four other children who died in the blast were buried in Kiunga yesterday.

The blast destroyed the police lorry and burnt some of the victims.

Lamu East sub-county administrator Shee Kupi told journalists one of the children was found late on Tuesday evening. He had serious head injuries and burns on the face.

Al-Shabaab terrorists used an IED to hit the police lorry before spraying it with bullets and disappearing into Boni Forest.

The lorry was carrying 19 Administration Police officers and 15 civilians, most of whom were children who had hitched a lift from Mararani to Kiunga when the incident happened, killing eight people, including four children.

Security agents were warned last week of Al Shabaab attacks within Kiunga area, Milihoi, after roughly 100 of them were spotted by locals.

Yesterday, police headquarters released the names of the slain officers. They are Inspector of Police Jamleck Irungu, Corporal Jackson Korir, Administration police constable Lawrence Ndung'u and Corporal George Olwal.

The police report also named five officers; Hashim Bonaya, Evans Kariuki, Moses Kariuki, Kelvin Ndegwa and Asman Shibore, who sustained injuries in the blast. They are under treatment in Malindi in Kilifi and on Manda Island in Lamu.

"A joint security team comprising KDF soldiers and the police are combing the area to see if there are any other survivors," said Noah Mwavanda, who is the officer in charge of the operation against insurgents in Boni forest where those who planted the explosive are believed to be hiding.

Insecure area

He also said Baure in Sang'uri, which was believed to have landmines, was considered an insecure area and was under security operation.

"We are working on the road at Baure and Sang'uri that has so far led to the killing of 11 police officers in a span of three weeks. The area is a black spot and under surveillance," said Mwavanda.

In three weeks, 11 police officers, four adult civilians and a child have died in explosives in Lamu East sub-county.

Two weeks ago, five police officers, a civilian and two soldiers were killed at Baure when a police vehicle struck an explosive planted on the roadside.