A police officer who sustained serious injuries following an attack by suspected al-Shabaab militants in Mandera on Friday, 2 June 2023 has died.
This is the second officer to die following the deadly attack near the Kenya-Somalia border. Four officers remain hospitalised as a result of the incident.
It comes just a day after a police reservist, identified as Mohamud Abdullahi, was shot dead by suspected militants in an incident that has raised tensions across the vast northeastern region.
Suspected al-Shabaab terrorists carried out the attack on Elele-Takaba road in Mandera County.
The incident occurred as officers from the Quick Response Unit (QRU) were patrolling Mandera County following intelligence reports that suspected al-Shabaab fighters had been spotted at the Kenyan border.
Armed with rocket-propelled grenades, the militants attacked the officers, killing one on the spot and injuring others.
“Another officer died in the attack and a team of officers is already on the ground combing the area to flush out the suspected militants,” said Mandera County Commissioner Amos Omariba.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has been holding meetings with top security agencies in the North Eastern region over the terror attacks.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has already condemned the recent attacks on National Police Reservists (NPRs) in Mandera.
In a statement, the IPOA said the attack, which left one officer dead and two others injured, was a plot to undermine security operations in the region.
“Unfortunately, during the incident on Friday 2 June 2023 in Mandera County, the attack resulted in the death of one person while two others sustained injuries; they were among patriotic Kenyans serving in the National Police Reserve (NPR),” the statement read in part.
