A shocking incident occurred in Mandera County, Kenya, where five chiefs were abducted by suspected Al-Shabaab militants on Monday. The chiefs, who were traveling from Wargadud to Elwak Town for official duty, were intercepted and taken hostage by the militants.
According to Mandera South Police Commander Julius Njeru, the chiefs were from the administrative units of Wargadud East, Qurahmudow, and Chachabole. The vehicle ferrying the chiefs was hijacked between Bamba Owla and Ires Suki in Mandera South.
Kenya’s security multi-agency teams, operating under the Special Operations Group (SOG), encountered an IED attack while responding to the incident. Mandera County has been a hotbed of Al-Shabaab insurgents targeting local administrators, with similar incidents reported in previous years.
The abduction has raised concerns about the safety of local administrators and the ongoing threat posed by Al-Shabaab militants in the region. Efforts are underway to locate and rescue the abducted chiefs, and the government has vowed to intensify security measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
