Rocket attack kills 5 police in northern Kenya

Islamist group Al-Shabaab has carried out several deadly attacks in Kenya since Kenyan troops entered Somalia in October 2011 to battle the militants.

A Somalian court sentenced 43 al-Shabaab militants to death on Saturday over their role in recent attacks in the country, African media reported.

Inspector – general of police Joseph Boinnet confirmed the incident which happened between Kutulo and Chuma Mrefu towns.

“This was a well-arranged ambush by the militants”, he said.

Two of the victims were burned beyond recognition, Job Boronjo, the police commander in Mandera county, told the Associated Press news agency, adding that four officers survived.

He said the officers were escorting a bus when the incident happened in Elwak area. It had spent the night in Kotulo before it left for Nairobi with the police in escort as per requirement.

Immediately after the attack, the jihadists fled the scene, according to North Eastern Regional coordinator Mohamed Saleh.

The attack was the second bloodiest in Kenya since al-Qaeda bombed the USA embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing 213 people. “The info about their presence was long shared by the locals”, Governor Ali Roba said on his Twitter account.

In 2014, Al Shabaab militants attacked another bus near Mandera killing 28 people who were travelling to Nairobi for the Christmas holidays.

The Garrisa University attack which occurred in 2015 remains in people’s minds as one of Kenya’s most bloodiest terror attacks.