“We lost a police officer and the other is wounded,” a senior police officer said of the attack that took place late Tuesday. “The officers were on patrol when they were ambushed.”
Regional police chief Philip Tuimur confirmed there “was an attack which involved our officers” but gave no further details.
Past attacks and cross-border raids in the region have been blamed on the Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab insurgents or their Kenyan supporters, who vowed revenge after Nairobi invaded Somalia last year.
The Shabaab still control large parts of southern Somalia, despite African Union troops, allied Somali forces and Ethiopian soldiers wresting control of several key towns from the insurgents.