Four killed in rocket attack in Kenya: police

The Toyota Landcruiser, with education and security officials ferrying secondary school examination papers, was hit in Elwak region near the Somali border, but it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

"The vehicle was carrying eight people but four of them have died," a police officer in the region said on condition of anonymity.
Police spokesman Erick Kiraithe confirmed the attack but did not give any toll.

"We have received a report of a banditry attack in Mandera district about 110 kilometers from Mandera town involving a vehicle carrying government officials among others," police spokesman Erick Kiraither said in a statement.

The attack comes three days after two grenade attacks in the capital Nairobi killed one person and wounded dozens. Kenyan security officials suspect Somalia's Shebab rebels, who have not claimed responsibility.

Kenyan authorities have tightened security after the Shebab threatened to attack the country to retaliate Nairobi's military offensive against them in the south of the war-torn nation.

A man arrested following the attacks admitted yesterday to being a member of the extremist Shebab militia. He was found with several grenades and rifles at his house in a Nairobi district late on Tuesday.

Kenya shares a long and porous border with Somalia and the Shebab have carried out several cross-border raids and abducted civilians.

Gunmen this month kidnapped two Spanish aid workers from Kenya's sprawling Dadaab refugee camp and took them to Somalia. A British tourist and a Frenchwoman -- who later died in captivity -- were seized last month from Kenya's coast.

Kenyan security officials blame the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels for the abductions, but the insurgents deny involvement. On October 16, Nairobi deployed forces to battle the Islamist militia, who control much of southern Somalia.

The Kenyan military have not said how many men have been deployed, but analysts estimate that it has sent between 2,000 and 3,000 troops.

However, Somalia President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said he opposed the incursion despite an agreement signed by Kenyan and Somali defence ministers on the operation.

In a statement yesterday, the Somali government said it was keen to see the Shebab defeated, but added that "the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of both Somalia and Kenya should be respected."