Ambush by militants kills two policemen in northeast Kenya

An ambush by suspected al-Shabab militants, who are originally based in Somalia, has claimed the lives of at least two policemen in northeast Kenya.

The casualties were caused when gunmen believed to be members of Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group targeted a convoy of Kenyan security forces in Mandera County, close to the border with Somalia, on Sunday.

The Kenya Red Cross confirmed in a statement that two policemen were also wounded in the deadly assault.

Kenyan border cities and towns have witnessed numerous cross-border attacks by militants from al-Shabab.

Last Monday, at least two people were killed and several others sustained injuries when al-Shabab gunmen opened fire on a bus in Mandera. In early April, at least 148 people, mostly students, were killed when al-Shabab militants stormed the Garissa University in northeastern Kenya and opened indiscriminate fire on the people there.

On September 21, 2013, at least 67 people were killed during a four-day-long siege by al-Shabab militants at the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Al-Shabab is headquartered in Somalia, where it is fighting to overthrow the government in Mogadishu. The internationally-backed government in Somalia receives military assistance from a 22,000-strong African Union (AU) task force, which includes Kenyan soldiers.

Al-Shabab has threatened to continue its attacks on Kenya until the country pulls out its troops from the AU force.

The extremist group, which pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2012, has been behind violence and chaos in Somalia since 2006, targeting key government and security figures in the African state.

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