Five police officers have reportedly been killed at Dimu area, Mandera County, by suspected Al Shabaab fighters.
The officers were ambushed Monday morning and their vehicle hit using a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), while they were escorting a Nairobi-bound bus.
Four other officers who were in the escorting Land Cruiser fought the militants and managed to secure the bus which safely drove the passengers to the nearby ElWak town.
Reports indicate that after the incident, the fighters burnt the bodies of the officers and the GK vehicle they were travelling in.
Mandera Governor Ali Roba broke the news seemingly decrying the slow response, by security agents, to earlier reports that the militants had been spotted in the area.
“We condemn the attack by Alshabab at Dimu this morning 5 police officers killed The info about their presence was long shared by the locals,” Roba wrote on Twitter.
Confirming the incident, North Eastern Regional Coordinator Mohamed Saleh said the attackers escaped but added that reinforcement had been dispatched to track the militants.
“We have sent a reinforcement to pursue the attackers who escaped soon after the incident. The bus was headed for Nairobi when the attack happened,” he said.
The Regional Coordinator indicated that the bus which was being escorted was not hit during the attack.
