Wajir, Kenya —
Police in eastern Kenya are blaming al-Shabab militants for the death of an officer and a civilian in an attack in Garissa County, on the border with Somalia.
Garissa County police commander Thomas Ngeiywa said Thursday the two victims were among six people on board a police vehicle that struck an improvised explosive device in the Hayley Lapsset [refugee?] camp.
Ngeiywa told VOA by phone that three other police officers wounded in the Wednesday morning explosion have since been airlifted to Nairobi for treatment.
He said police suspect al-Shabab militants were behind the attack. He said a multi-agency security team is pursuing the militants.
“We expect it could be these bad boys but we have a lead and we are catching them,” said Ngeiywa.
The incident comes a few days after suspected al-Shabab members destroyed a radio tower in a police station in Kutulo, in Kenya’s border county of Mandera.
Ngeiywa urged the public to report anything suspicious to police.
Somalia-based al-Shabab has been active in Kenya for more than a decade, even since Kenya sent troops to join the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.