1 person dead in attack on police post on Kenya’s coast

MOMBASA, Kenya – One attacker died and three police officers were wounded Friday after a group of men armed with machetes and bows assaulted a coastal police post to steal guns, an official said.

Ten men chanting “God is great” in Arabic attacked the post early Friday, said Kutswa Olakha, the county commissioner for Kwale.

No group has claimed responsibility, but initial suspicion has fallen on a secessionist group called the Mombasa Republican Council that wants the coastal region to secede from Kenya, claiming marginalization.

The MRC was blamed for the near-simultaneous 2014 attacks on the Nyali Army Barracks and a police camp in Malindi, both on the coast. A solider died and six of the attackers, who were armed with machetes, spears and bows, died in the attack on the barracks. No one died in the attack on the police post.

Authorities also suspect Friday’s attackers could an Islamic extremist group. In September, three women who reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group were shot dead by police for allegedly petrol bombing a police station.