Kenya: 8 Police Officers Killed in Bomb Blasts
Kenyan officials have confirmed that eight police officers were killed in two separate explosive attacks in the Mandera county of the country on Wednesday.
The Mandera county is on the border between Kenya and Somalia and has been a regular target for Somali-based terrorist groups. There have been several attacks in the area over the past three weeks.
Just last week, another blast in the area killed four people, including a child.
Both incidents involved improvised explosive devices that targeted vehicles.
Members of the security detail of Mandera County governor, Ali Roba, were killed last week when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
Roba confirmed on Facebook that five of his security detail were killed in the blast, including his personal bodyguard.
The attacks on Wednesday came one day after Kenyan police chief, Joseph Boinnet, announced that Somali terrorists linked to al-Shabaab threatened to increase attacks in Kenya as part of an offensive on the Kenyan military presence in Somalia.
Kenya’s military have been helping in Somalia for the past six years as part of the African Union’s military mission
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on the police vehicle on Wednesday, saying that they had killed “at least five Kenyan police officers”.
