Three Kenyan police officers were killed while two others suffered injuries when their vehicle hit a landmine near Kulan Dam in Liboi Garissa County, eastern Kenya, early Wednesday morning.

The officers were part of a three-vehicle early morning patrol in the Somali border region, along the Liboi-Milan road, when the vehicle belonging to the Kulan Administration Police Post hit the improvised explosive device (IED).

"The police car ran over an IED and we have casualties. All the dead officers are from one work station," North Eastern regional commissioner Mohamud Ali Saleh said.

"From past incidences, it is easy to see that even this one is the work of our enemy, the al Shabaab. They plant these IEDs to target our security people."

Two injured

The Nation cannot name the dead officers because their families are yet to be informed of their losses.

Other three police officers: Dennis Mwachiru, Titus Mwangi and Peter Gakuo were unhurt and have been accounted for.

Police Constables Oliver Ochieng’ and Nahashon Omondi were injured and are undergoing treatment.

Attacks

The attack by suspected Somali jihadist group Al Shabaab comes just a day after Kenya's Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet warned that some members of the terrorist network had sneaked into the country and were planning attacks.

In a statement, IGP Boinnet said the terror group was behind a series of attacks, including a recent attack in Mandera where a local chief was killed.

"These groups are dispatching operatives into parts of North Eastern Region to lay IEDs along the routes used by our security patrols in efforts to frustrate our security operations at the border areas," the police said. 

The IGP, however, said that police was on high alert, but asked the public to be vigilant and report suspicious any people to the authorities.