Four hurt after gunmen raid Chinese building site in Kenya
- Chinese company hit by suspected al-Shabab militants is working on the Garissa-Modogashe highway, police said
Kenyan police have thwarted an attack by suspected Somali militants al-Shabab on a Chinese-owned construction company in an eastern region, an official said on Monday, days after the Islamist group killed 21 people in Nairobi.
Four people were wounded when gunmen opened fire at the site in Garissa county, not far from the Kenyan-Somali border, owned by a Chinese road construction company that is building the Garissa-Modogashe highway.
“The attackers were repulsed since the security officers were very alert. There was exchange of fire before the attackers escaped,” said county police commander David Kerina, adding that the injured person was a watchman’s wife.
“I believe the attackers, who were armed, might be Somali militants. They fled, but we have intensified security operations. So far no arrest has been made.”
Kerina said eight gunmen were involved. “We had four people who were injured during the incident and they were taken to hospital,” he said.
National police chief Joseph Boinnet said there had been another attempted attack on a second construction camp which was also thwarted.
“We suspect that the attackers are either dead or fled with serious injuries,” he said.
Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based al-Qaeda affiliate fighting to impose its interpretation of Islamic law, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s assault on the upscale dusitD2 hotel and office compound that has rocked Kenya.
The group has often targeted Kenya in revenge for sending troops to Somalia, but said the dusitD2 attack was due to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Police have arrested nine people over the hotel attack, including one listed as a Canadian.
On Sunday, Kenya police circulated by Twitter pictures and names of another eight people it said they were seeking for involvement in the assault or planning fresh attacks.
Al-Shabab also killed 67 people in a 2013 assault on a shopping centre in the same upscale neighbourhood as last week’s attack in Nairobi, which is a hub for expatriate businessmen, diplomats and aid workers.
In 2015, the group killed 148 students at Garissa University, the worst militant attack for almost two decades.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse
