At least five others who sustained injuries were later evacuated to Nairobi for medical attention.
Two of them were in serious condition.
Officials said a major operation followed the bomb attack in Arabia by suspected al Shabaab militants.
The militants set up the IED on the road and targeted a police vehicle that was carrying officers from the Quick Response Unit, an elite unit from Kenya Police that is among those operating in the area.
The officers were on patrol from Arabia to Mandera when they encountered an IED on Sunday morning, September 3, police said.
The incident happened at Ledhi as the vehicle raced on the road.
The area has experienced a significant decline in attacks in the month of August, which signals better exploitation of intelligence by security forces.
Security sources said the multi-agency teams are pursuing reports the attack was carried out by a cell operating in the area.
“We are pursuing them with the help of the residents. We continue to urge for their help to tame this menace,” a senior officer on the ground who asked not to be named said.
The area near the border with Somalia has suffered a series of terrorist attacks.
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 terror group had increased attacks in Kenya in a renewed trend that has left dozens of people dead in the past months alone near the Kenya-Somalia border.
But mounted operations have seen a decline in such attacks in some areas near the border.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
Kenyan troops are in Somalia under African Union Transition Mission in Somalia to help in fighting the al Shabaab militant group.
KDF went to Somalia in October 2011. There are plans to withdraw the troops from the area and let Somalia take over.
As part of efforts to address the attacks, the Chief of Defence Forces Gen Francis Ogolla led a top Kenyan security team to Somalia’s Jubaland on July 1 to push local authorities to heighten the war on al Shabaab.
