2 children die in explosion after tinkering with RPG in Mandera

Rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) warhead. [iStockphoto]

Two children died Sunday morning after an explosive went off while they were herding goats at Iresuki village in Mandera County.

Confirming the incident, Mandera CIO Benedict Kigen said the warhead, suspected to have been launched from a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), exploded after the unsuspecting children tinkered with it.

Kigen said the two class six pupils at Wargadud primary school, Adan Ali Hassan and Hamza Ibrahim, were burnt beyond recognition following the explosion in Elwak municipality.

The CIO added that investigation is underway to determine if the device was deployed recently or was an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by suspected Al-Shabab terrorists targeting a communication mast nearby.

"The police are investigating to find out if the grenade is new or old. Preliminary investigation showed that it may be an RPG or a socket bomb as small fragments of metal were found in the blast radius," said Kigen.

Condemning rising insecurity, MPs Adan Haji Ali (Mandera South) and Mohamed Abdi Abdirahman (Lafey) called on security agencies to step up the fight against Al-Shabaab and mob up unexploded bombs and IEDs in the area as they pose a risk to residents, especially children.