Three Kenya police killed near Somali border: police

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

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NAIROBI (Reuters) - Three Kenyan police officers were killed in an ambush in northeastern Kenya near the Somali border on Monday, the local police chief said, the latest in a rash of attacks in the region.

Kenya has been hit by a wave of grenade and bomb attacks since its troops crossed into Somalia last October and has blamed al Shabaab, al Qaeda-linked militants, and the group's sympathizers inside its lawless neighbor.

The attackers have targeted Kenya's northeast, the capital Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa, threatening the country's lucrative tourist trade.

"Three administration police officers from Liboi have lost their lives. They were attacked while on the way back to Liboi," Garissa county police chief George Kingi told Reuters. Liboi is a border town near Somalia.

"I can't tell how many officers were injured. We have yet to secure detailed information in regard to the attack or point a finger at any group of persons behind the attack," Kingi said.

Al Shabaab formally merged with al Qaeda this year and has declared war on Kenya because of its incursion into Somalia.

(Reporting by Noor Ali; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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