Vehicle Full of Police Officers Sprayed With Bullets

Police Vehicle
An image of a police vehicle spotted in Nairobi
Photo
kenyans.co.ke

At least five police officers sustained gunshot wounds after a vehicle they were travelling in was sprayed with bullets by suspected Al Shabaab militants.

According to a police report filed on Thursday, August 4, the police officers were ambushed during a regular patrol along the Wargadud - Elwak road by armed gunmen who were on foot.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the ambush was conducted by Al Shabaab militants who had been spotted by residents in the area earlier on.

An image of the police vehicle that suffered an IED attack on Sunday, June 5, 2022..jpg
An image of the police vehicle that suffered an IED attack on Sunday, June 5, 2022.
Garissa Today

"The station vehicle had its rear screen shattered, its exhaust pipe damaged, chassis shot at and it had a bullet hole on the rear roof rails.

"Information received from pastoralists is that 25 to 30 Al Shabaab terrorists had been sighted between Wante and Alungu along Elwak - Lafey road, and their intention is not known,” the police report read in part.

The vehicle was ferrying a multi-agency team of officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Nation Police Service, and the Critical Infrastructure and Border Patrol units.

The cops disembarked from the vehicle to counter the attack by the militants, save for one who sustained a bullet wound on his forehead.

Four other police officers who sustained injuries were rushed to the Elwak Sub County Hospital for medical attention. All of them have since been discharged.

Following the attack, a team of operatives from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the General Service Unit (GSU) was deployed to beef up security in the area.

A manhunt has also been launched to track down the militants, who according to intelligence reports, had trooped into the country through the porous Kenya - Somali border.

“We have increased external threats in areas along our border with Somalia. All security arrangements are in place to ensure the coming elections are not interfered with,” Mandera County Commissioner, Onesmus Kyatha, stated.

The incident comes barely a week after Wiper Deputy party leader, Farah Maalim, evaded an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the road while on a campaign trail.

A Kenyan police officer pictured at a crime scene.
A Kenyan police officer pictured at a crime scene.
Kenyans.co.ke
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