Nairobi - Suspected Somali insurgents attacked a Kenyan paramilitary security unit camp on Tuesday in a remote border area and injured an unknown number of officers, a top Kenyan police official said.
"There was an attack which occurred at about lunch hour (09:00 GMT). A group of heavily armed men opened fire and injured officers," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"They are suspected to be Shebab militants from Somalia. But they are being pursued," added the official. "We are yet to receive more details on this incident but no deaths on our side have been reported. A number of our officers are wounded."
The attack was against the General Service Unit - a paramilitary outfit - in Liboi, near the Kenya-Somalia border.
Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shebab have repeatedly threatened to attack Kenya, which backs the Horn of Africa's government that the radical Islamist group has been fighting and seeking to topple.
In January, the Shebab released a song threatening to march on Nairobi in retaliation for a deadly Kenyan police crackdown on Muslims protesting the arrest of a radical Jamaican cleric who had entered the east African state.
Kenya, which shares a long and porous north-eastern border with Somalia and has offered assistance to government troops battling the insurgents, has frequently expressed fears that Shebab suicide bombers would strike in Kenya.
The hardline militia controls much of central Somalia as well as the country's southern regions near the border with Kenya.
In recent years, the extremist fighters have carried out cross-border kidnappings.
Three foreign aid workers were kidnapped by Somali gunmen last year in towns near the border region months after two Catholic nuns were also abducted, and later freed. AFP
Al-Shabaab attacks Kenya territory
By FRED MUKINDA and AFP
Posted Wednesday, March 31 2010 at 22:30
Posted Wednesday, March 31 2010 at 22:30
A joint police and military force was on Wednesday deployed to Liboi in Garissa District following an incursion by Somalia’s al-Shabaab.
Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe confirmed the team was despatched from Nairobi to assess the situation and provide reinforcements.
He confirmed that General Service Unit (GSU) officers there were engaged in a fierce gun battle with the rebels, but said there were no casualties.
Other sources, however, claimed a grenade was thrown into the GSU camp, injuring some officers.
Al-Shabaab, which has links with the al-Qaeda terror network, has besieged the transitional government in Somalia and also harbours territorial ambitions against Kenya.
Reports by AFP quoted an unnamed “top Kenyan police official” saying an unknown number of officers were injured.
“There was an attack at about lunch hour. A group of heavily armed men opened fire and injured officers,” AFP said, adding:
“They are suspected to be Shabaab militants from Somalia. But they are being pursued. We are yet to receive more details on this incident but no deaths on our side have been reported. A number of our officers are wounded.”
The militia has in the past threatened to attack Kenya, which backs the Horn of Africa country’s government. In recent years, the extremist fighters have carried out cross-border kidnappings.
Three foreign aid workers were kidnapped by Somali gunmen last year in towns near the border region.
Kenya, which shares a long and porous border with Somalia, has frequently expressed fears that al-Shabaab suicide bombers would strike its territory
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