Another explosions rocks northern Kenya

At least a government official was injured on Monday when he stepped on a landmine in Wajir town in northern Kenya. Wajir District Commissioner Kennedy Nyaiyo said the officer in charge of National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) in Wajir was on a convoy of other vehicles heading for the celebrations to mark Kenya's Independence Day at the local stadium when the incident happened. Nyaiyo told Xinhua on phone that the object must have been planted by individuals who knew that the convoy would pass there. The administrator said that the NSIS who was with other three was the only one who was slightly injured in the explosion. "He has been rushed to the Wajir district hospital where he is receiving treatment, he only sustained slight injuries," Nyaiyo told Xinhua by telephone. Sources who witnessed the incident said the NSIS vehicle was completely blown off on its front side. "The NSIS vehicle was the second last car to pass, with the police following. The police immediately started chasing who after the explosion were seen running. They managed to arrest one suspect who tripped as he was running," said the witnesses who sought anonymity. "We have arrested one individual in connection with the incident and believed he will offer us crucial information that will help us arrest the people who were involved in the attack," Nyaiyo said. The incident comes hours after an administration police officer was killed and nine military officers injured in Mandera and Wajir respectively. The east African nation has been beset by a spate of grenade and landmine attacks since it launched cross border incursion into neighbouring Somalia to pursue the al Qaeda allied Al-Shabaab militant group. Kenyan forces have intensified their military operation inside Somalia, as Operation "Linda Nchi," which kicked off on Oct. 16 against the Somali militants, continues deeper into the Somali territory. The conflict however comes at a cost for civilians caught up in the skirmishes.