NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 19 -A police officer was killed and two others seriously wounded on Monday following a landmine attack on their patrol vehicle in Hagadera within Dadaab refugee camp, police and witnesses said.
The two injured officers sustained serious burns after the attack and were being treated at a hospital within the camp.
“They are being treated at the IRC hospital within Hagadera. They are in a critical condition because of the nature of the injuries they sustained,” a police officer told Capital News.
The incident occurred at 12pm as the officers in a convoy escorted aid workers in the camp.
“The police vehicle was the third in the convoy when it exploded after passing on what is believed to be a landmine,” a witness said.
Area provincial police Chief Leo Nyongesa said a massive security operation was underway in the camp to flush out the attackers and their sympathizers.
“There were aid workers in other vehicles which were behind, two vehicles had passed and the police vehicle was the third, it stepped on a landmine that exploded,” he said.
A witness Abdinoor Hassan described the scene as horrible.
“The vehicle was thrown very far away from the scene and it is badly damaged. It is a horrible incident I have saw the wounded officers as they were being taken from the scene,” Hassan said, adding there was tension in the region.
“There is heavy presence of police officers here,” he added.
Nyongesa said a massive security operation was underway in the area in search of the attackers.
Monday’s blast is the latest in a series of attacks targeting security forces in the North Eastern region where at least ten people have been killed and dozens wounded in separate attacks blamed on Al Shabaab militants protesting the presence of Kenyan troops sent in their country Somalia to flush out its members.
Security forces at the border points are grappling with threats posed by the insurgents who have been laying landmines mainly targeting police and soldiers patrolling the Somalia border.
Kenyan officials have blamed the hard-line Al Shabaab or their sympathisers for the spate of recent shootings and bombings, although armed bandits also operate in the border areas.
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