Late last week, the war between the Al-Shabaab on one side and the joint forces of the Africa Union peacekeepers and the Somali Transitional Government spilled over into the Kenyan territory that saw one Kenyan killed from the mortars and bombs from the Somali side.

It is alleged that the Al-Shabaab ventured into the Kenyan border town of Mandera and terrorised the local residents as they were being pursued by the Ethiopian troops who had repulsed them from the Bulla Hawa town in Somalia. Al-Shabaab had ambushed the TFG soldiers returning home from Ethiopia for training.

Bulla Hawa lies near the borders of Kenya and Somalia. Indeed, a local Tv station, Citizen TV posted photos of suspected members of Al-Shabaab cruising in a residential area in Mandera town in Land Cruiser trucks. But the government has denied the reports and declined to substantiate these reports. Calls by this AfricaNews reporter to the Ministry of Internal Security went unanswered.

On Monday, Iteere had called a press conference and called on Kenyans to be vigilant as the threat from Al-Shabaab was being taken seriously. He also added that the military presence along the Kenya-Somali border had been increased. “I want to take this opportunity to assure the public that in conjunction with other security services, we have taken measures to provide adequate security. However, we wish to advice those responsible for security in shopping malls, hotels, and all other social places where the public is admitted, to be more vigilant at this time," he added.

On Monday, the Al-Shabaab issued a warning that its fighters would launch attacks on the Kenyan soil for what they termed as Kenya's training of the TFG soldiers. "Kenya has constantly disturbed us and now it should face the consequences of allowing Ethiopian troops to attack us from Mandera town," al-Shaabab spokesman Sheik Ali Mohmud Rage told a news conference.