Police officer among five injured in Mandera terrorist attack

Five people, including a police constable, sustained varying injuries on Wednesday after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off at Heritage Hotel in Mandera County, in a suspected terror attack.

The five were; Police Constable Halima Hassan Maalim, three of the hotel's staff including Joseph Chege (29), Febi Atieno (30), and Brigit Makhokha (31), as well as 29-year-old Shukuri Isaac Haji, a passerby who was injured by shrapnel from the IED.

Police say the IED was placed on one of the hotel's perimeter walls by an unidentified suspect who left the scene immediately after.

A report documenting the incident states that one of the injured hotel staffers noticed the suspect placing the IED device on the hotel's premises, raising alarm and prompting the four other injured persons, including officer Maalim, to investigate.

Maalim, the police report says, contacted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offices in Mandera East for assistance, but the IED reportedly exploded before they arrived at the scene.

" PC Halima Hassan Maalim has sustained a serious broken right leg. Joseph Chege, who is a waiter in the hotel, suffered serious left leg injuries which has been amputated," reads the police report.

"Febi Atieno and Brigit Makokha, also waiters, sustained injuries to both legs while Shukuri Isaac Haji sustained slight injuries to the head from flying fragments while passing near the hotel."

The scene has since been cleared by police officers assisted by military personnel and GSU officers. Plans are also underway to airlift the injured officer for further treatment.

No person has been arrested in connection to the incident.