Al Shabaab attack foiled in Garissa, suspected militants killed
Three suspected Al Shabaab militants were killed on Tuesday morning when they carried out a dawn attack n Saretho centre, Garissa County, police have said.
The three were killed by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) during the attack that lasted more than three hours.
Four civilians were also killed by the in the militants.
“The criminal gang had targeted the nearby telecommunication mast and in the process four innocent lives were lost, including that of a teacher and a small child,” read a statement by National Police Service.
Sources say that four officers attached to Saretho Police Post, two non-local nurses are missing following the attack.
“Currently police officers are combing up the area in pursuit of the Al Shabaab militants as they also search for their missing colleagues,” a police source told Nairobi News.
DESTROYED MAST
According to a police report seen by Nairobi News, the militants first destroyed a Safaricom mast and a building at a camp in Saretho.
“Today at around 0200hrs while on patrol from Garissa we encountered contact 500metres from Saretho centre then followed by 3 blasts two from the safaricom mast and one at the camp. The gate of the mast was destroyed and part of the building of the camp by RPG,” the report reads in part.
A police officer, who is based in the area, told Nairobi News that an intelligence report had been issued on a possible attack in the area.
The attack comes just two days after Al Shabaab militants attacked a key military base used by US counter-terrorists forces in Kenya in Manda Bay, Lamu County killing three Americans.