By Antynet Ford
Nine police officers are admitted and nursing injuries after the armored personnel carrier they were using was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) set on the road in the Welmerer area, Hagadera, Garissa County.
The officers from the elite Special Operations Group were in a convoy of two vehicles when the incident happened over the weekend.
Police said the APC was damaged after being hit by what had been set on the road.
The police blamed al Shabaab militants for the incident and many others in the region.
The team of nine was on patrol in the area when the incident happened. The victims were rushed to a hospital in Hagadera for treatment where they were later airlifted to Nairobi for specialized medical attention after it emerged they suffered multiple injuries.
No arrest was made at the scene and no further attack was followed as the other officers who were in a second vehicle jumped out to wait for a response in case there were gunmen in waiting.
The area is seen as a main breeding ground for the al-Shabab terrorists who are terrorizing the region at large.
Previously, security agencies have thwarted dozens of planned attacks and arrested many suspects in operations.
For instance, on March 2, five suspected terrorists were killed in an operation in Fafi, Garissa County.
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.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by residents.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
