Three passengers were killed on Wednesday morning in Sarman Location, Mandera county when suspected Al Shabaab gunmen sprayed the bus they were traveling in with bullets.

The Nairobi-bound, Moyale Raha, bus was reportedly without the usual police escort accorded to Public Service Vehicles plying the route.

According to witness accounts, the driver of the bus saved the situation by not stopping and speeding off until the gunmen shot the tires. The passengers fled into the bushes and were helped by residents who live nearby.

Yesterday, there were reports of heavy gunfire in Bulla Hawa area of Somalia, near Kenyan border town of Mandera, allegedly occasioned by a fight between the Somali National Army forces and Janan’s militia between Mandera‘s Border Point 1 and Somalia town of Beledxaawo.