Five chiefs were Monday morning abducted in an ambush by suspected al Shabaab terrorists in Elwak, Mandera County.
Police and witnesses said the group was traveling in a car to Elwak when they were attacked and hijacked between Bamba Owla And Ires Suki.
They are believed to have been driven to Somalia. The area is near the main Kenya-Somalia border r
The group was to meet in the area to plan how to cover a planned visit by President William Ruto to the region this week.
Mandera South police commander Julius Njeru confirmed the attack and said the administrators were travelling from Wargadud to Elwak town for duty.
Ruto is expected to tour the northern region this week and this has prompted security operations.
He will among others hold a cabinet meeting in Garissa, officials said.
The president will also visit Isiolo, Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir and Garissa Counties in the period.
A major operation was mounted after the incident in which the attackers who were waiting are said to have fled to Somalia.
Top police commanders later flew to the area to oversee an operation mounted. Police believe the attackers had prior information on the movements of the administrators.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border.
Last year in December, a driver attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was morning shot and killed by suspected al Shabaab terrorists in an attack in Lafey, Mandera County.
The unknown number of gunmen later grabbed his four-wheel drive car and escaped with it.
Police said this was after they had dropped the body of the deceased from the car.
The deceased was attached to the local police command.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia common border which is usually breached by the terror group.
Police said the gang crossed the border into Somalia.
The body of the deceased was moved to a local mortuary.
This is the latest such incident in the area amid operations by separate teams.
The area is under the multi-agency security operation and is near the Kenya-Somalia border.
The multi-agency operation seeks to flush out the militants from the.
This has seen a significant reduction in such incidents.
The area has been facing an increase in terror related attacks.
This is among other things because of its proximity to Somalia border.
The border areas of Mandera, Wajir, Lamu and Garissa too have faced similar attacks which have affected development at large.
The government says they have acquired more resources to enhance operations in the border area against the terrorists.
The attacks have left many dead and displaced hence affecting development.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border where the terrorists cross at will for attacks before retreating to their areas of control.
Kenya has been staging operations to tame their activities.
Somalia has not had stable government to help in addressing such attacks.
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