Kenya: Al-Shabaab attack on police station kills 2

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Two police officers were killed on Wednesday in an attack by al-Shabaab militants on a police station in northeastern Kenya that lasted for more than seven hours.

Security Forces in the East African country on Wednesday told local media that the militants attacked and razed the Pandaguo police station in Lamu County along the coastal region at around 5.30 a.m. (0230GMT) battling the Kenyan police and military until around 1pm.

Confirming to Kenya’s Daily Nation that two police officers were killed, a senior security officer who asked not to be named due to restrictions to speaking to the media confirmed that the militants had also destroyed communications equipment in the area.

"An unknown number of officers and villagers are missing. Some of the injured have been taken to Witu Hospital," the police officer said, adding that over 200 militants had attacked the police station.

Speaking to journalists in Nairobi, the Police Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet confirmed the attack, adding that additional police officers have been deployed to the region to tighten security.

Numerous schools in Kenya's Lamu County remained closed due to the attack.

Lamu is close to the porous Kenya Somali border and in the past it has witnessed numerous attacks from Somali based al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab militants.