NAIROBI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were shot and killed by suspected al-Shabab militants in Kenya's coastal region of Lamu on Sunday evening, a government official confirmed on Monday.
Several houses in the area were also torched by the attackers in the Pandaguo area, Coast Regional Commissioner John Elungata said.
The assailants, who attacked the village at around 8 p.m. Sunday, were repulsed by police reservists after a heavy gunfight, the commissioner said.
"They escaped into the Boni Forest and a multi-agency security team has been deployed in the area," Elungata said over the phone.
The attackers invaded Taa village and targeted homes in a coordinated manner, police said, adding that many villagers ran and hid in bushes.
The attack came barely a week after suspected Shabab militants ambushed a police vehicle in eastern Kenya. The vehicle was heading to Garissa County when it hit an improvised explosive device. The militants then fired a rocket-propelled grenade. Two police officers and one civilian were killed in the attack and subsequent gunfight.
Shabab militants have been using the dense Boni Forest as their hideout location to carry out attacks in the coastal region.
The area, which is near the border with Somalia, has encountered Shabab attacks in the past.
The Kenyan government has since 2015 conducted a multi-agency security exercise dubbed Linda Boni in the Boni Forest area to flush out Shabab militants hiding there.
Lamu County has been in the spotlight for some years now, suffering militant attacks that led to the death of security officers and civilians. ■
