- Attackers retreated to a nearby valley prompting fears of another assault.
- There have been longstanding feuds between communities in the area over boundaries and pasture.
Five people including a pregnant woman were on Sunday night killed during a bandit attack along the Isiolo-Garissa border.
A National Police Reservist was shot in the abdomen and hospitalised at Benane Hospital. His AK47 and bullet magazine were stolen.
Local administrators had put the death toll at three before two more bodies were discovered in a nearby thicket on Monday morning.
The attacks took place at Kampi ya Samaki, a disputed area that has witnessed inter-clan skirmishes for long.
Both Isiolo and Garissa counties lay claim to the area.
Those killed in the Sunday attack included 18-year-old Burey Adow who was pregnant.
Others were Yerrow Mohamed Kaban, 80, and Adow Abdow, 86.
National Police Reservist Noor Keinan Mohamed sustained gunshot injury in the abdomen.
Thirty-three camels were stolen from Hussein Roble and Ali Adan - both herders from Kampi ya Samaki.
A rescue team from Benane police station that was dispatched to the area was overwhelmed by the bandits. Officials said they were about 70 attackers.
Another contingent of officers was dispatched from Modogashe, while a team from Garbatulla police station also reinforced the security.
Counter-attacks between the two communities have been attributed to illegal guns in the hands of civilians, poor government action, and lack of coordinated disarmament.
There have been long-standing feuds between communities in the area over boundaries and pasture.
Police have launched investigations about the attack including possible involvement of Isiolo county inspectorate officers as well as former disarmed National Police Reservists.
Lagdera deputy county commissioner Philip Koima said armed men raided Kampi ya Samaki and launched a killing spree.
He said the assailants torched seven houses as local residents scampered for safety.
Lagdera MP Mohamed Hire condemned the attack. He regretted that the killings have persisted for decades with impunity.
"Where is our government when all this is happening? Does it mean that these bandits have become too powerful to an extent that the government is unable to reign in them. What are our defenceless people supposed to do when attacked," The MP said on the phone.
While politicians from both Isiolo and Garissa have been accused of fanning the conflicts, the government has come under scrutiny for taking too long to resolve the boundaries row between the two counties.
Edited by P.O