Two police officers have been killed and seven others are missing following an attack by suspected Al Shabaab militants in Lamu County.
Armed men raided Pandaguo Police Post in Lamu on Wednesday morning and engaged police in a fierce gun battle.
The gunfight paralysed learning at the surrounding primary schools and pupils were ordered to vacate.
Addressing the incident, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet dismissed reports that two officers had been killed in the attack.
“In our standard procedures, we do not interfere with officers who are actively engaged in repulsing attackers. As we speak our officers are still engaged there still engaging the enemy as we speak right now,” he said.
The militants also destroyed a communication mast, affecting communication in the area for a while, but security agencies responded swiftly to prevent more damage.
Coast police boss Philip Tuimur said security agencies engaged the militants in a fierce gunbattle that extended to the better part of Wednesday morning.
Witnesses said the incident happened late in the night and continued until dawn.
Last week, Coast Regional Coordinator Nelson Marwa called for the bombing of Boni Forest in Lamu to eliminate Al-Shabaab militants hiding in the region.
Marwa stated that the terror group had taken over the forest from where they have been launching attacks before retreating back to hiding.
“These people made Boni Forest their home and started to stage attacks and then retreat without even running. I can’t understand this myself… we need to bomb that forest,” Marwa stated.
