At least five people, including two police officers, have been killed in an ambush by suspected bandits in Gotu area, Isiolo County.
Police confirmed that the victims were ambushed by the assailants on Wednesday morning during an operation to track and recover stolen livestock.
The fallen officers were drawn from the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) and the National Police Reservist (NPR).
Isiolo County Police Commander Isaac Sang said the incident followed an earlier attack in which a man was killed after he reportedly lost his way while returning home on Tuesday evening.
According to Sang, the man, who was reportedly mentally unstable, got lost in the thickets and was cornered and killed by suspected attackers believed to be from neighbouring Samburu County.
His relatives reported the incident at the ASTU police post in Gotu on Wednesday morning and sought police assistance to search for and recover his body.
Sang said it was during the recovery operation that the attackers ambushed the officers and local residents, opening fire and killing two police officers, one National Police Reservist and one other man, bringing the death toll to five.
Sang has urged residents to remain calm as police intensify efforts to pursue the attackers using armoured vehicles.
He said all the bodies had been retrieved from the thicket by Wednesday afternoon.
The latest ambush followed a separate cattle-rustling attack on Tuesday in neighboring Igembe Central, Meru County, where armed raiders shot and killed a local herdsman.
