Kenyan police have killed 20 suspected Al-Shabaab militants in the northeastern county of Mandera, near the border with Somalia.
The suspects had attacked patrol police officers’ vehicle, resulting in an exchange of gunfire that left 20 of the suspects dead and eight security personnel injured.
The incident happened at Ogorwen Location, some 1,050 kilometres from the capital Nairobi.
“Police recovered assorted weapons from the scene of crime,” Kenya’s National Police Service said in a statement on Thursday.
Al-Shabaab insurgency continues to be a challenge to the governments of Kenya and Somalia.
Border reopening postponed
On Wednesday, Kenya announced it had shelved its plans to gradually reopen its border with Somalia, citing Al-Shabaab threat on national security.
The militant group has been pushing for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Somalia as it seeks to take control of operations in the country.
Their attempts have, however, been futile. The African Union and the United Nations have since engaged different peacekeeping missions in the country to stabilise the nation.
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is in the process of winding down its operations in Somalia to facilitate handover of military bases to the Somalian government.
