Three passengers have lost their lives, and six were severely injured after a matatu they were travelling in hit an Improvised Explosive Device in Mandera on Wednesday.

The matatu with 14 passengers was heading to Takaba from Mandera town when it ran over a set IED between Wargadud and Elele.

According to police, the incident happened Wednesday, June 21, at about 2.30 pm.

The terrorists behind the bomb are said to have targeted a non-local who was on board, but he was rescued and taken to a local police camp.

After the Land Cruiser was struck, witnesses told police that the outsider survived and fled into the bush for cover before being recovered and taken to the neighbourhood police camp.

Multiple wounds were present when the injured people were taken to the hospital. Police report that militants from the nearby nation of Somalia continue to IED-rig roadways near the main border.

This occurred just hours after a similar IED attack on Tuesday that killed two police officers and a local engineer in the Tarbi area in the Guba ward along the Banisa-Rhamu road in Mandera County, bringing the total number of fatalities to six in less than 24 hours.

Five other officers were injured in the June 20 incident, police said.