- The attackers who are believed to be al-Shabaab militants who crossed from the nearby Kenya-Somalia border
- The officers were robbed of three AK47 rifles and unknown number of bullets.
Image: THE STAR
Four police officers were Monday killed when a vehicle they were travelling in was attacked by gunmen in Liboi, Garissa County, police said.
The officers were travelling in a probox car when they ran into an ambush between Liboi and Kulan area.
The attackers who are believed to be al-Shabaab militants and who crossed from the nearby Kenya-Somalia border escaped with the officers’ guns.
Witnesses said they heard gunshots from the Damajale area and when they checked they found the bodies of the four officers there.
“They were ambushed and shot before being robbed of their weapons. It was an ambush,” said an officer aware of the incident.
The officers were robbed of three AK47 rifles and an unknown number of bullets.
The incident is the latest to happen in the area.
In Wajir, terrorists tried to kidnap two former councillors from a shopping centre on Sunday evening, police said.
The two former councillors managed to escape from the abductors who had left them in a car to pray.
North Eastern police boss Rono Bunei said they had intensified operations in the area to tame the gang movements.
The incident came a week after police in the area recovered foodstuffs and other paraphernalia that the terrorists were using before escaping.
This gave an indication of their activities and plans in the area.
The killings came days after four officers were killed in Milihoi area, Lamu county in a similar attack.
The government has blamed ethnic profiling that is linked to political inclinations around elections, the looming voter registration drive and land disputes as the primary causes of the latest attacks and displacements in Lamu.
The area is among those under the dusk to dawn curfew.
The National Security Council met for the first time this year to discuss attacks in parts of Lamu county that have left now 14 people including the officers dead.
Officials said the incidents in Lamu are domestic terrorism being fanned by some
At least 15 suspects have been arrested over the attacks.
It comes as more security was deployed in the area to trace more suspects over the latest attacks. A team of detectives has been sent there to back up with locals to help in the operation.
The attack prompted an operation in the area with several multi-agency teams being deployed.
There are fears they are planning an attack on security agencies and civilians.
This has prompted operations spanning from Mandera, Wajir, Lamu and parts of Kilifi Counties.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border which has been under attack by terrorists in the past.
Boni Forest is an operation zone as the national government has since 2015 conducted a multi-agency security exercise dubbed Linda Boni, which is aimed at flushing out al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding there.
Kenya began the construction of the 700-kilometre long wall in 2015 to stop the militants from crossing into and out of Kenya.
The wall, which is known as the Kenya-Somalia border securitisation project is among others meant to secure the country from attacks by the Somalia-based al Shabaab terrorists.
The project plan includes having designated immigration and custom entry points with a two-foot-tall concrete wall fitted with CCTV cameras.
Trenches are also being constructed in the area.
The plan includes the creation of at least 22 border posts on the border with well-equipped personnel to respond to any form of aggression.
Officials say once complete, the teams will be spread 40 kilometres apart to enable quick response to attacks from militants.
The fence especially in Mandera and Lamu has helped reduce incidents of attacks by the militants who often crossed at will.
Research by government security agencies says 30 per cent of the country’s security problems are traced to the porous Somalia border often penetrated by terrorists.
-Edited by B. Marita