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Al-Shabab kills five police officers in Kenya

Monday, 20 June 2016 10:08 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 20 June 2016 10:08 AM ]

Police officers patrol along a street in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, July 23, 2015. (File photo by AFP)

Five Kenyan police officers have been killed in an attack by militants from the Takfiri al-Shabab terrorist group in northeast Kenya near the border with Somalia, a local official says.

The al-Qaeda-linked militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a police vehicle while it was providing security for a bus near the Kenyan town of Elwak on Monday, according to Ali Roba, the governor of Mandera County.

“We condemn the attack by al-Shabab at Dimu this morning, five police officers killed,” Roba, said on Monday.

The Takfiri group has yet to comment on the attack.

Al-Shabab, a group known for its campaign of terror in Somalia, has a long record of launching attacks in Kenya as a revenge for the country’s contribution to the African Union (AU)’s mission in Somalia. The AU troops seek to bolster the weak UN-backed government of the country against the militancy.

The Kenyan military began operations in Somalia in 2011 but the number of its troops has doubled since the start of the AU mission there. Militants have launched several attacks in Kenya, demanding the pullout of the troops.

Al-Shabab has lost its control of Somalia’s major cities, but keeps carrying out attacks against civilians and troops in the country.

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