Nairobi, Kenya - Kenyan troops were in a hot pursuit of suspected Al Shabaab loyalists after raiders killed four policemen at a local Administration Police (AP) camp in Gerille, Wajir, near the Kenyan border with Somalia, Police said Thursday. Provincial Police Commander Leo Nyongesa, said the attack at the AP camp, may have targeted the armoury, which was set on fire after the looting of the weapons.

The group is suspected to have kidnapped several security officers, including an immigration officer, a local intelligence officer and three police agents.

Police said the area’s district officer was also missing after the raid on the camp, one of the several attacks on security installations in the Northeastern Kenyan region.

Nyongesa said the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) personnel were hot on the heels of the attackers, believed to number around 50 fighters.

Several Kenyan government officers have been killed in the region since the Kenyan forces crossed into Somalia to fight the Al Shabaab militia, accused of kidnappings.

Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe also confirmed the incident in Gerille, about 100 kilometres from the border with Somalia.

“The Police are very concerned about these attacks,” Kiraithe said.

The Al Shabaab has been blamed for attacks on local administration officials, who are often attacked using landmines and other
explosives.

Police said investigators have made inroads into the sources of the explosives and made arrests. Police have also recovered nine bomb detonators in the region.

Pana 12/01/2012