Eight people killed in Kenya's northeast in suspected al Shabaab attack

Eight people – two police reservists, five construction workers and a driver – were killed in northeast ‌Kenya on Tuesday in an attack by suspected al Shabaab militants near the Somali border, police and a senior regional official said, Report informs referring to Reuters.

A report from ⁠a local police station said the ambush happened about 7 a.m. (04:00 GMT) in Mandera county in the northeast, in an area where a road is being built.

Regional official John Odhiambo Otieno said the armed assailants were believed to have ‌crossed ⁠the nearby border from Somalia.

Investigations were under way to identify the attackers, Otieno added.

Al Shabaab, which controls large swathes of Somalia, ⁠frequently carries out cross-border attacks on Kenyan military and civilian targets.

Security analysts say the assaults ⁠are aimed at pressuring Kenya into withdrawing its troops from peacekeeping missions ⁠in Somalia.