By BBC
Six police personnel in north-east Kenya have been killed after assailants attacked a base near the border with Somalia, a regional official said.
No group has claimed responsibility but Garissa County Commissioner Mohamed Mwabudzo told the BBC the style of the attack followed a pattern of raids by Somali-based Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
He said the officers were ambushed on Sunday at 05:30 local time (02:30 GMT) while they were preparing for their morning prayers. In addition to the six officers who died, four officers were taken to hospital with injuries.
Al-Shabab frequently mounts cross-border attacks in the area, targeting both the Kenyan military and civilian populations. Mwabudzo said the “guerrilla style” nature of the attack aligns with al-Shabab’s “pattern of cross-border raids aimed at destabilising the region”.
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“The suspected militia used assorted weapons to overrun the camp,” he said.
The camp targeted in the assault was housing reservists— local volunteers who assist the regular police in securing remote areas. Al-Shabab—affiliated to al Qaeda—controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The group has waged a brutal insurgency against Somalia’s government for nearly 20 years.
