Five Kenyan police officers and three reservists were killed today when their vehicle hit a homemade landmine in Wajir, northeast Kenya, a government official said.
"We had an attack this afternoon and eight officers have been killed," said northeastern regional coordinator, Mohamud Ali Saleh, the area's top security official.
Saleh said the bombing occurred in Bojigaras, in the east of Wajir county. "We suspect the involvement of the Shabaab and we are looking for them," he added.
The use of improvised explosive devices against police and military patrols in the northern and eastern border regions with Somalia have become relatively common.
Over the past year, Shabaab insurgents, based in Somalia, have claimed several such attacks killing dozens of Kenyan police and soldiers.