Nairobi — An unknown number of heavily armed Al-Shabaab militants stopped a Mandera-bound passenger bus belonging to Mukaram company on Thursday night at Mandera's Kutulo sub-county before preaching to passengers.

According to police, the suspected militants ordered all passengers to get out of the bus and searched for non-locals for more than two hours.

"The bus was heading to Mandera from Nairobi. They also stopped a taxi from Kotulo heading to Elwak and a motorbike coming from Borehole 11 to Dimu village," read a police report seen by Capital FM news.

Police stated that after thoroughly searching for non-locals in vain, the suspected militants gave along speech in Somali language which most of the passengers didn't comprehend.

"While some were searching for the passengers, few others were seen in nearby bushes along the main B9 road. No one onboard was hurt as there were no non locals on board," police said.

All security personnel manning roadblocks have been directed not to allow any non-local to travel along the B9 road between Kotulo and Elwak Towns.

"In addition, security personnel from Duse GSU Camp have responded to the incident and they are currently conducting clearance patrols jointly with NPRs in the area," they added.

This is not the first time that the Al-Qaeda linked militant group have targeted non-locals.

In a similar modus operandi, the Shabaab militants ambushed a Mandera-bound bus between Kutulo and Wargadud area in Wajir County leaving at least eight people dead.

During the 2020 incident, the militants stopped the bus and separated the locals from non-local passengers before releasing the bus and executing the victims.

Teachers and security agencies operating in the region have borne the brunt of attacks from the Somali-based militant group.