Five police officers die in Mandera after vehicle is hit by rocket propelled grenade

Five police officers escorting a passenger bus from Mandera were killed Monday morning after their vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade near Kotulo.

The attackers, police say, also burnt the vehicle.

The officers were escorting the bus, called the Desert Cruiser, that was travelling to Nairobi.

The passengers had spent the night at Kotulo and had left in the morning.

Mandera County Police Commander Job Boronjo said none of the bus passengers was injured because the grenade did not hit their vehicle.

“The attack was reported at 9am as police officers were escorting a bus that had stayed at Kotulo town for the night before proceeding to Mandera in the morning. No injuries have been reported on the bus passengers since the driver sped off, but the police escort was set on fire and two of the nine officers burnt beyond recognition," he said, adding that "Five officers are dead and four others are safe. They are in Elwak town waiting for bodies to be airlifted to Nairobi as we have called for a plane.”

A combined security force including the military was already pursuing the militants in Kotulo, he said.

“We are told the attackers’ footprints showed they headed to Somalia, which is near the scene but we have enough officers there,” he said.

He further said that the militants had formed a trend of attacking areas close to the Kenya/Somalia border so they could escape easily.

Mandera South Sub County Deputy Commissioner Peter Karanja said the bus had arrived in Elwak town 13 kilometres from the scene.

Northeastern Regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh said: “We believe their target was the police officers as they have not attacked the bus.”

In 2015, three people were killed during a dawn attack a few kilometres from Kotulo when gunmen attacked a bus and a lorry.