- The area is seen as a main breeding ground for the al-Shabab terrorists who are terrorizing the region at large.
- Security agencies have thwarted dozens of planned attacks and arrested many suspects in operations.
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Nine police officers are nursing wounds after an armoured personnel carrier they were using was hit by a bomb set on the road in Welmerer area, Hagadera, Garissa County.
The officers from the elite Special Operations Group were in a convoy of two vehicles when the incident happened on Saturday, March 9 morning, officials said.
Police said the APC was damaged after being hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that had been set on the road.
Police blame al Shabaab militants for the incident and many others in the region.
The team was on patrol in the area when the incident happened. The victims were rushed to a hospital in Hagadera for treatment.
They were later airlifted to Nairobi for specialised medical attention after it emerged they suffered multiple injuries.
No arrest was made at the scene and no further attack was followed as the other officers who were in a second vehicle jumped out to wait for a response in case there were gunmen in waiting.
The area is seen as a main breeding ground for the al Shabab terrorists who are terrorising the region at large.
Security agencies have thwarted dozens of planned attacks and arrested many suspects in operations.
For instance, on March 2, five suspected terrorists were killed in an operation in Fafi, Garissa County.
Police said four others were arrested in the operation adding the group was headed for Fafi from a hideout when they were ambushed.
The team recovered two PKM machine guns, one RPM, six AK47 rifles and a number of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) making materials.
Additionally, telephone phones and SIM cards were also recovered, officials said.
The four fighters were taken in for further interrogation and were cooperating well, police said.
Quick exploitation of the phones has so far given important leads on a number of local al Shabaab facilitation networks, officials said.
The intelligence-led operation caught the militants by surprise as they crossed into Kenya and established a temporary camp in the Fafi area of Garissa.
This comes in the wake of reports the terror gang has been sending their members to Kenya in the past month in readiness for an attack.
Police said they are investigating the attacks, which are new after a long lull.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is usually breached by terrorists who attack and escape.
More personnel have been deployed in the area in an effort to tame the attacks.
Residents have always been urged to work with security agencies to tame the trend.
This is because such attacks cannot happen without the knowledge of the locals.
Police say they have upped their operations in the area to tame the plans for the attacks.
The area is near the Kenya- Somalia border where the terrorists cross and launch attacks inland.
A major operation is ongoing in the area to address al Shabaab-related attacks, which happen because of others, the proximity to the main Kenya-Somalia border.
The terrorists have been attacking places near the Kenyan border by using guns and explosives leaving dozens dead and many injured.
The recent attacks have forced the government to suspend plans to reopen the Kenya-Somalia border.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by residents.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by the security agencies.
Kenyan troops are in Somalia to pursue and suppress the activities of the terror group.