Al-Shabaab has been fighting for more than a decade to topple Somalia's central government. Photo: Reuters / Photo: Reuters Archive

At least seven people have died in northeastern Kenya in two separate explosive attacks.

Four were killed when their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) on a road linking Banisa to Mandera, police said on Wednesday.

Security officers who responded to the incident were also attacked by the suspected Al-Shabaab militants, but the officers managed to repulse the attackers.

Authorities said the road connecting Banisa to Mandera is risky due to occasional Al-Shabaab attacks, especially on civilian vehicles.

In the second incident, three people died and five others injured at the El Wak Division near Kenya’s border with Somalia after their vehicle ran over an IED on Wednesday, police said.

It wasn’t immediately established who was responsible for the attack.

Al-Shabaab militant group, which has conducted multiple attacks in Kenya and Somalia for decades, often claims responsibility for the killings as it pushes for foreign troops to be withdrawn from Somalia.

TRT Afrika