Two people were Friday executed after thugs believed to be Al Shabaab militants stopped and profiled passengers in a bus heading to Garissa.
Witnesses and police said the seven terrorists flagged down the bus at Handaro, which is between Ijara and Sangailu towns.
After directing the driver to stop, the militants ordered the passengers to produce their IDs and picked out three non-locals.
"The passengers were then asked to recite the Muslim Shahada and the seven verses of Suratul Fatiha," a teacher, who witnessed said.
He said only one of the three recited the verses and was set free. He later alighted at Bura East, some 100 kilometres from Garissa town.
The two, one of them being the bus' turn boy and the other a casual labourer based in Masalani, had their hands tied before being slaughtered.
The militants escaped into a bush after committing the heinous act. Military officers responded to the distress call by the passengers some minutes afterwards.
Northeastern regional coordinator Mohamed Birik said they embarked on a ground and aerial operation to comb the forest for the militants' arrest.
"we have lost two innocent lives of Kenyans. I want to assure you of security in this area,” he said.
He said they are banking on the recruitment of Kenya police reservists in all the 60 locations across the region to boost security.
