Ten officers from the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) lost their lives on Saturday after the vehicle they were travelling in set off an improvised explosive device (IED) near a village close to Hindi town in Lamu County.
The officers, who were on patrol duty, died on the spot as a result of the explosion.
Reports indicate that the incident occurred during a routine patrol in the area. The bodies of the deceased officers have been recovered, but due to the magnitude of the explosion, their identities have yet to be established as their bodies were severely damaged beyond recognition.
Following the event, military personnel swiftly processed the scene and bolstered security in the surrounding area.
The use of an IED suggests the involvement of the al-Shabaab group, which has been known to employ such tactics in their attacks.
The Boni Forest operation, initially known as Operation Linda Boni, was launched in 2015 with the primary objective of flushing out fighters believed to be hiding within the dense Boni Forest. The region near the Somalia border has repeatedly suffered attacks from al-Shabaab, with occasional assistance from local collaborators.
The militants often stage attacks in the area before swiftly retreating across the border into Somalia, making it a challenging task for security forces to apprehend them.
Places in the region, particularly Mandera and Garissa counties, have been frequent targets of al-Shabaab attacks.
