Nine police officers police officers were injured after an armoured personnel carrier they were using was hit by a bomb set on the road in Welmerer area, Hagadera, Garissa County.
Police said the officers from the elite Special Operations Group were in a convoy of two vehicles when the incident happened on Saturday March 9 morning.
SOG is heavily involved in operations against the al shabaab terrorists operating the larger north eastern region and coastal areas. The attack on them was aimed at slowing their operations, officials said.
Police said the APC was damaged after being hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that had been set on the road.
The team was on patrol in the area when the incident happened.
The victims were rushed to a hospital in Hagadera for treatment and later airlifted to Nairobi for specialized medical attention after it emerged they suffered multiple injuries.
No further attack was followed as the other officers who were in a second vehicle jumped out to wait for response in case there were gunmen in waiting.
The area is seen as a main breeding ground for the al shabaab terrorists who are terrorizing the region at large.
Security agencies have thwarted dozens of planned attacks and arrested many suspects in operations.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is usually breached by terrorists who attack and escape.
Locals have always been urged to work with security agencies to tame the trend.
This is because such attacks cannot happen without the knowledge of the locals.
Police say they have upped their operations in the area to tame the plans for the attacks.
A major operation is ongoing in the area to address al-Shabaab-related attacks, which happen because of others, the proximity to the main Kenya-Somalia border.
The terrorists have been attacking places near the Kenyan border by using guns and explosives leaving dozens dead and many injured.
The recent attacks have forced the government to suspend plans to reopen the Kenya-Somalia border.
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