Eight people, including five engineers and two Kenya Police Reservists (KPRs), have been killed in a deadly morning ambush by unidentified gunmen along the Mandera-Arabia-Lafey road in Mandera County.
The attack occurred at Koromey, near Hagarsu, where heavily armed assailants reportedly barricaded the road before opening fire on a vehicle providing security escort for a road construction project.
According to local police and security officials, the attackers targeted the security vehicle accompanying workers involved in the ongoing construction of the critical road project.
Seven of the victims were killed instantly during the attack, while the eighth victim, identified as the driver of the security vehicle, later succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to the Mandera County Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Five of those killed were engineers working on the road construction project, while two were Kenya Police Reservists assigned to provide security for the team.
The identity and occupation of the eighth victim had not been established in the initial reports.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over the safety of workers and security personnel involved in infrastructure development in Mandera, a region that has experienced repeated security threats due to its proximity to the Somalia border.
The road project is among the critical infrastructure developments in the region, where security escorts are necessary to protect construction teams from potential attacks.
Following the incident, multi-agency security teams launched a manhunt for the attackers, who reportedly fled immediately after the shooting.
Additional security personnel have also been deployed to the area as authorities intensify efforts to track down those responsible.
Investigations are underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack, including the motive behind the ambush and the identities of the gunmen.
No group had claimed responsibility for the attack at the time of publication.
Mandera has previously experienced attacks targeting security officers, civilians and infrastructure projects, with armed militants operating across the Kenya-Somalia border posing a persistent security challenge.
The latest killings are likely to renew calls for enhanced security along key roads and around development projects in the northeastern region, where insecurity has continued to threaten lives and disrupt economic activities.
