Mandera leaders have raised concern that al Shabaab’s destruction of communication masts in the county could be an indication of a major pending attack.

The team led by Mandera Governor Ali Roba said the vandalism denoted economic sabotage and attempts to cut the county off while an ambush is planned.

“The terrorists are cutting Mandera from the other parts of the country. They have crippled economic activities and now the isolation plan has moved a level higher,” he told a meeting of all of the county’s legislators on Wednesday.

Roba warned that the al-Qaeda linked terror group based in Somalia was successfully isolating the county from the rest of Kenya.

“With the communication network down, al Shabaab will be moving around the county and it will only be a couple of days before anyone notices there is a problem,” he said.

The leaders asked the government to urgently take action and stop responding “casually” to their concerns.

“No action has been taken since the masts were vandalised. I do not understand how, after the first attack, sufficient security has not been provided to protect all the masts in this county,” said the Governor.

He said Mandera’s security needs to be overhauled for the sporadic attacks by al Shabaab to end.

The terror group has destroyed three masts in a week so far – one in Damasa, another in Dabacity, Kutulo and the third one in Chabi bar, Mandera North, on Wednesday night.

Al Shabaab gunmen launched a hand grenade and destroyed an Orange telecommunication mast in Kutulo on Monday night.

They were targeting two adjacent masts belonging to Safaricom and Orange telecommunication companies.

Mandera South MP Mohamed Huka told a press conference said Kotulo constituency has borne the brunt of recent terror attacks.

“If the government does not take action on al Shabaab, (they are the one who will be campaigning in Mandera, not Jubilee),” he said.