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D.O, two people missing after Shabaab attack

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 12 – A District Officer, chief and a civilian are still missing more than 12 hours after they were abducted during an attack in Wajir which police blame on Al Shabaab militants.

Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe said six people, including two Administration Police officers were killed during the attack in which the Al Shabaab burnt an Administration Police post in Gerille region.

He said several firearms and a police vehicle were also stolen when more than 100 Al Shabaab militants stormed the Gerille AP camp.

“Six persons including two Administration Police officers were killed by the bandits. Three administration police officers were injured,” the spokesman said in a statement.

“The bandits also stole firearms, ammunition and a car from the post,” he said.

The militants also burnt down property within the post, located about seven kilometres from the border with Somalia.

Kiraithe said the attackers were “suspected Al-Shabaab militia fleeing from the joint operation of Kenya and the Somalia Transitional Government Forces inside Somalia.”

A contingent of police officers led by North Eastern Provincial Police chief Leo Nyongesa were deployed to the area for a major security operation which managed to rescue two police officers who were near the border with Somalia.

The Al Shabaab issued a statement late on Thursday claiming responsibility for the attack, which they said was carried out in revenge for “the aggressive Kenyan invasion against the Muslims of Somalia.”

“Seven Kenyan administration police and government officials were immediately killed, while others were taken prisoners,” the Al Shabaab said in a statement, adding they also seized vehicles, communication equipment and weapons.

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Kenyan officials have blamed the extremist Al Shabaab and their sympathisers for a string of recent bombings and shootings, although armed bandits also operate in border areas.

The attack follows the most recent one that occurred on New Year’s Eve when a hand grenade was hurled at a club in Garissa, killing five people. Several others were wounded.

The attack targeted revellers who were ushering in the New Year at a popular club in the town.

Kenya has suffered a spate of attacks since sending its military to Somalia in mid October 2011 to fight the Al Shabaab which it blames for a series of kidnappings and other attacks locally.

On Christmas Eve, a grenade explosion at a bar in Wajir, left six people wounded.

Garissa has been one of the worst hit by the violence. On November 24, two grenade attacks there killed three people and injured 27. On November 5, a grenade attack on a church in the town killed two people and injured four.

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