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Kenya

Officer killed, colleague hurt in Shabaab attack

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 17 – A police officer was killed and his colleague wounded on Monday night when they were ambushed by people believed to be Al Shabaab militants in Lagdera.

“Their vehicle was sprayed with bullets killing one of them instantly. Another one was wounded,” a senior police officer in the region said.

The wounded officer was airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment on Tuesday.

“They were attacked when they were patrolling the area near the border with Somalia,” the officer added.

Police said the attackers escaped under a hail of bullets. A massive security operation was underway in the region on Tuesday.

Last week, two police officers were shot and seriously wounded in Mandera in another attack blamed on Al Shabaab militiamen.

The officers who were in a group of three were heading back to Garissa when the militants attacked them in Arabia area, a few kilometres from the border with Somalia.

Those in the vehicle included the area deputy police Chief John Mbaluka, his driver and another officer.

“The officers were attacked while on patrol; they have been taken to hospital,” a senior officer in the region had said.

Mbaluka who escaped unhurt in the attack said: “The gunmen were in groups and they sprayed bullets at us and we also engaged them. We are so lucky to have survived.”

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The driver and the other officer are the ones who were wounded in the attack.

One of the officers was shot in the ribs while his colleague sustained injuries on both hands.

Cases of attacks targeted on security forces have been on the increase at the border towns since Kenya sent its troops to Somalia to fight Al Shabaab militants.

The militants have also targeted social places and churches, often opening fire and hurling grenades at civilians.

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