Twelve Kenyan police officers dead, one injured after IED attack in Wajir

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 15 – Twelve Kenyan police officers were killed in Wajir late Friday when Al Shabaab terrorists planted an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) on the road.

A senior police officer in the region said the attack occurred on Saturday morning at Konton centre, and were pursuing attackers who raided the village late Friday and drove away with three police reservists.

“They appear to have planted explosives on the road because they knew they will be followed,” another officer said.

According to police sources, there were 13 officers in a Land Cruiser that ran over the landmine, twelve of whom died on the spot.

Capital FM News later learnt that a missing officer had been accounted for, settling earlier concerns that some officers may have been kidnapped by the attackers.

Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai however, put the number of police officers on board the patrol vehicle hit by an IED at 11.

A brief statement dispatched to media houses Saturday afternoon indicated that the officers were on a routine patrol of the Kenya-Somalia border between Khorof-Harar and Konton area in Wajir.

“I have dispatched additional resources including air surveillance capability to continue with the operation,” Mutyambai said

CapitalFM