Kenyan police launch manhunt for suspected militants responsible for deadly Lamu attack

 

Kenyan security forces Monday launched a major manhunt for about 30 suspected al-Shabab militants who massacred six men in the coastal Lamu region.

Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia said they suspect the killers are al-Shabab militants, noting that investigations are ongoing on the same.

Macharia said a joint security team comprising the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), police and anti-terror unit has since visited and processed the scene.

“We suspect they are al-Shabab militants but we are still investigating to ascertain their true identities and the motive of the killings. We believe they have entered the Boni forest and our forces are in pursuit,” the government administrator said.

He added that adequate security units have been deployed to pursue the suspected militants who are believed to have fled into the Boni forest, a notorious hideout for the insurgents who have been using the jungle to launch attacks on the locals.

Locals said there have been recent reports of increased al-Shabab presence in Lamu and especially inside the Boni forest where they are believed to have set up active camps from where they retreat to hide and rest after conducting attacks on parts of Lamu and other areas along the Lamu-Somalia border.

Tension remained high in the area amid fears of more attacks as security operations were mounted.

Lamu County has been in the spotlight for some years now owing to increased scathing attacks by the militants that have left hordes of security officers and civilians dead.