Kenya: 5 police killed in attack near Somalia border

MANDERA, Kenya – Suspected Islamic extremists ambushed a police vehicle in northern Kenya and killed five officers Monday, a police official said.

The officers were escorting a passenger bus early Monday when they came under attack, Mandera County Police Commander Job Boronjo said.

The bus driver sped away, but the police vehicle was set on fire and two of the victims were burned beyond recognition, Boronjo said.

“This was a well-arranged ambush by the militants,” he said.

Four officers survived, and the attackers are believed to have fled toward the Somalia border, Boronjo said.

Kenya has been attacked several times by members of the Somalia-based Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which opposes Kenya’s military involvement in the Horn of Africa country.

Al-Shabab has recruited hundreds of Kenyan youths, who make up the largest contingent of its foreign fighters.