Eight people were killed in an ambush on Tuesday in northeastern Kenya by suspected al-Shabaab militants near the Somali border, police and a senior regional official says.
A report from a local police station said the ambush happened about 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) in Mandera county in the northeast, in an area where a road is being built
Regional official John Odhiambo Otieno said the armed assailants were believed to have crossed the nearby border from Somalia.
The victims comprise five construction workers, two police reservists, and their driver, according to police and a senior regional administrative official.
“The team was traveling to a project site when they were ambushed by suspected al-Shabaab fighters,” a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity. “Eight people lost their lives in the attack.”
The incident occurred in Mandera County near the porous border with Somalia, an area that has frequently been targeted by the Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group.
al-Shabaab has waged a violent insurgency against Somalia’s central government for over 15 years and has repeatedly launched cross-border raids into Kenya.
The group, which targets security personnel, infrastructure, and civilians inside Kenya, demands the withdrawal of Kenyan troops stationed in Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping force.
Security forces have launched a search operation in the area to track down the assailants.
MG/as/APA