Six police officers were killed and four others injured in a pre-dawn ambush on Sunday in north-east Kenya, near the Somali border, authorities have confirmed. The assault occurred around 5:30 am local time as officers were preparing for morning prayers.
While no group has officially claimed responsibility, Garissa County Commissioner Mohamed Mwabudzo told the BBC that the attack mirrors the tactics of al-Shabab, the Somali-based Islamist militant group linked to al-Qaeda.
“The suspected militia used assorted weapons to overrun the camp,” Mwabudzo said, describing the attack as “guerrilla-style,” consistent with al-Shabab’s cross-border strategy.
Targeting Police Reservists
The attack struck a camp housing police reservists—local volunteers who support regular law enforcement in Kenya’s more remote and volatile regions. These reservists are often on the front lines in border security operations, making them vulnerable to well-coordinated ambushes.
Al-Shabab, which controls large portions of southern and central Somalia, has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Somali government and routinely carries out cross-border attacks into Kenya, targeting both military and civilian installations.
This latest incident underscores the fragile security environment in Kenya’s northeastern region and the ongoing threat posed by al-Shabab, despite international and regional efforts to counter the group
