Five Kenyan security officers were killed after their patrol vehicle struck an improvised explosive device near the Somali border allegedly planted by Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants, Kenyan police have said.

The officers included four members of Kenya’s elite Special Operations Group (SOG) and one National Police Reservist. The reports also said gunfire was exchanged after the blast before the suspected terrorists fled the area.

“A patrol team from SOG Alungu came into contact with Al-Shabaab militants in the general area of Wantey Dam,” a police officer said as quoted by Reuters.

The attack took place at around 12 PM in El-Raamo in the Kutulo area on the Alungu route, a road commonly used by Kenyan security forces near the border with Somalia. According to the reports, the victims included Administration Police officers Ngaira Wekesa, Patrick Mwaura Karumba, Peter Mbugua Mburu and Yasin Kiptoo Lomer, as well as National Police Reservist Adan Adow Gedi. 

The attack is the latest in a series of security incidents in northeastern Kenya, where Al-Shabaab has targeted security personnel and civilians near the Somali border. In January, suspected militants killed Senior Chief Abdi Gani Owl and primary school teacher Stephen Musili in neighboring Garissa County.

Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent groups, particularly Al-Shabaab, have been carrying out regular attacks in several African countries since 2007. The terrorist group continues to conduct raids, bombings, and targeted assassinations in an effort to destabilize the Somali government and regional security structures, and also establish its own rule based on a hard-line interpretation of Sharia law.

The latest attack comes months after Somali government forces reported major operations against Al-Shabaab. In June, Somalia’s Ministry of Defense said government troops, supported by airstrikes, killed more than 30 militants in the Somali Middle Shabelle region. 

In March, Somali troops eliminated nine terrorists in another operation in Lower Shabelle, while two separate security operations the same month left 22 more fighters dead.