The deadly explosive in sprawling Dagahley refugee camp, one of the three refugee camps in Dadaab refugee complex pushes the death toll to 15 of Kenya security personnel killed in such explosive by suspected sympathizers of the Somali group since the country neigbouring to Somali sent it's military to the war-torn country to root out the Islamist.
The officers who were from Administration Police wing were returning from patrol in outskirt of the refugee camp, when their police land rover over run an explosive device planted on the road at around midday. Regional police commander, Leo Nyongesa said the four Administration Police officers were returning from their normal morning patrol before the vehicle they were travelling in hit an Improvised Explosive Device which was hidden on the sandy road to their camp.
"One of the officers who was of the rank of a Constable died on the spot of his injuries, while three of his colleagues who were in the same vehicle were seriously injured and they were rushed to Dadaab district hospital for treatment," Nyongesa told Xinhua by telephone.
The deadly explosive which killed the driver of the vehicle come barely three days after police detected similar explosives which was planted on the main roads linking the three refugee camps in Dadaab.
"The officers were just returning from a normal security patrol in the camps to be relieved in the afternoon shift by their colleagues, but unfortunately some few meters from their camp they were caught in the explosion that has also extensively damaged the vehicle," he said.
Kenya authority has been blaming the Somali militants, Al Qaeda- linked group of masterminding series of kidnappings of foreign aid workers in Northern region breeding into its incursion into Somalia last year.
The regional police chief said that there were plans to airlift the seriously injured officers who include a senior sergeant who was heading the patrol to Nairobi force memorial for specialist treatment.
Nyongesa said preliminary investigations by police indicates that there are links between the Tuesday's deadly explosive and a series of IEDs detected by explosives experts on the main roads between the refugee camps last week.
"We suspect that the criminals who had been planting Improvised Explosive Devices that have been discovered by our security personnel before causing any harm to our people and officers are the same people who had planted today's dead device," Nyongesa said.
The East African nation a has also been plagued by a spate of grenade and landmine attacks in its northern region where the insurgents have killed more than 15 police officers and over 30 civilians.
Since the Kenya military incursion into Somalia several attacks believed to have been carried out by Al-Shabaab have occurred in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa and Dadaab districts of northern Kenya even as the military reports gains against the Islamist group by capturing their military bases and killing scores of them.
Nyongesa said extra security personnel were deployed in Dagahley refugee camp to pursue those behind the planting of the IEDs in the area, who they believed are hiding in the camps.
"We appeal to peace loving Kenyans and refugees hosted in our country to help security agencies in the area by providing crucial information on suspected criminal elements bent on harming others, " he said.
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