Last night, a potentially deadly attack by the Somali terrorist organization al Shabaab was foiled by local Kenyan police officers. The attempted attack was to occur at Yumbis village in Ijara constituency within Garissa County- the same county of the Garissa University College attack that left 147 dead.

The terrorists were spotted by local civilians who quickly called the police, who responded with shocking agility.

Interior Ministry Spokesman Mwenda Njoka issued a statement saying that police had engaged in a shoot out with the militants but no arrest or casualties were reported.

“The government commends members of the public for taking pro-active action to report the sighting of these Ugus (the militants) and urges Kenyans to continue collaborating with security agents to ensure that members of this group who might have taken refuge among innocent locals are flushed out,” said Njoka.

The government is now appealing to the public to come forward with any information about the identity or whereabouts of the terrorist suspects.

Between 2012 and 2014, terrorist attacks, mostly perpetrated by al Shabaab, have killed 312 people in Kenya and injured 779. The counties in the north east that border Somalia are the worst hit.

The Kenyan government has been working to strengthen its internal security. However, its actions are at times controversial. In particular, the government efforts to relocate 600,000 mainly Somali refuges has caused human rights organizations to fret. The refuge camp, Dadaab, has existed for over 20 years. There are no known terrorist links to the camp, yet, the government says it is a breeding ground for al Shabaab activities.

Meanwhile, the Kenyan Defense Forces are still operating in Somalia, recently seizing the port Kismayu. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta refuses to remove ground forces for fear of further destabilizing the region.