Six police personnel killed in Kenya by suspected al-Shabab fighters

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Kenyan police officer leaves a building during a joint operation with Haitian police, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Feguens Regala

NAIROBI (Reuters) -     At least six police personnel were killed in Kenya while four were injured in an attack on a police camp by suspected Islamist militants in Garissa county in the country's east on the border with Somalia, police said. 

The assault which occurred early Sunday was carried out by suspected fighters from Somalia's al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab group, said a police report sent out to the media. 

Al Shabaab frequently carries out cross-border attacks in the area against both military and civilian targets. 

Attackers from the group launched an assault around dawn on a camp housing police reservists and "used assorted weapons to overrun the camp," the report said.  

"Six (6) fatalities have been confirmed with four (4) injured and in hospital."

On Tuesday the U.S. embassy issued an advisory, telling Americans not to travel to some places in Kenya including Garissa and other counties along the border with Somalia due to threats of terrorism.   

Al Shabaab has been fighting for years to overthrow Somalia's central government and establish its own rule in the Horn of Africa country based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. 

 (Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Elaine Hardcastle)