NAIROBI, The operation to hunt down suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists who killed a woman and injured five police officers at Nyongoro along the Lamu-Mombasa road on Saturday morning has been intensified.

Linda Boni Operation Director Joseph Kanyiri says they will not relent until all the criminals are arrested or eliminated.

Kanyiri said enough security officers have already been deployed at Nyongoro and its environs.

He said the search is also concentrated in areas near Boni Forest where the militants are believed to be hiding.

Nyongoro has become an area of concern due to the numerous Al-Shabaab attacks and subsequent killings conducted by the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda-linked group.

On Saturday morning, one civilian was shot dead and some police officers injured as a gang of suspected Al Shabaab terrorists ambushed a convoy of buses that was travelling from Lamu en route to Malindi and Mombasa.

In a statement, Interior Ministry Spokesperson Mwenda Njoka said the incident took place at around 11am and two police vehicles were damaged during the exchange of fire.

It is still not clear how many attackers were killed or injured during the incident which occurred in Nyongoro area between Gamba and Lango la Simba. He said.


Swift action by the security team ensured that the buses drove past the ambush area safely and without further casualties. By this afternoon, the operation to sanitize the area was still going on, he added.