Two police reservists among eight killed in ambush on Arabia–Lafey road workers in Mandera

Kenya , November 10, 2026 - At least eight people, including Kenya Police Reservists providing security, were killed on Tuesday morning in an armed ambush targeting a vehicle escorting construction workers on the Arabia–Lafey Road project in the Hagarsu area of Mandera County.

Preliminary reports indicate the attackers struck a security escort vehicle accompanying workers involved in the ongoing road project along the Arabia Road corridor near the Kenya–Somalia border. Among the dead are two Kenya Police Reservists who were providing security for the team, five road construction workers or engineers, and the vehicle’s driver, who succumbed to gunshot injuries while being rushed to Mandera County Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Mandera South MP Abdul Haro condemned the attack, describing it as a “cowardly” assault on a security vehicle escorting road construction workers. He said three Kenya Police Reservists and five road construction workers lost their lives and called on security agencies to step up patrols and surveillance across fragile border areas in northeastern Kenya.

No group had formally claimed responsibility by mid-morning. The pattern of targeting non-local construction workers and their security escorts matches previous attacks attributed to Al-Shabaab militants in the Mandera border region. Local reports place the ambush at Hagarsu or nearby Koromey along the Arabia Road.