Al-Shabaab militants target police in Kenya

NAIROBI - The Al-Shabaab militants who are mainly domiciled in Somalia on Sunday launched yet another fierce attack against the Kenya police who have been manning the porous border, just a week after the Department of State earmarked the group as the most dangerous entity.

According to reports from the border town of Garissa, the militants used the Improvised Explosive Devices [IEDs] to target the police, who were on patrol in the region. The county is located in Northeastern near the border of Kenya with Somalia.

Further reports indicate that the injured police officers were among a team that was escorting Ijara Member of Parliament aspirant Ibrahim Abbas’ convoy to Hulugho when they came under attack.

“The driver and other officers sustained serious injuries,” the police said in a report.

An official statement by the Kenya police blamed the Al-Shabaab militants for the unfortunate event, adding that they will continue with the crackdown against the militants. This is the second attack in Garissa in as many days.

Last week, gunmen believed to be members of al-Shabab militants attacked and injured a security agent along the Bura-Garissa road. Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera Counties are prone to such attacks by the militants.

A few months ago, the United States military through the US Africa Command sent elite troops to Northwestern Kenya where they are helping Kenya Defense Forces to tackle Al-Shabaab. The US gas also agreed to dispatch close to 500 soldiers to Somalia.

Kenya has borne the brunt of frequent Al-Shabaab attacks in recent years, forcing her military to cross over to Somalia. There are close to 3,500 Kenya Defense Forces troops serving under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE