Kenyan police officers on Saturday night successfully repelled a suspected al-Shabaab attack targeting the Khorof Harar Police Station in Wajir County.
Gunmen, believed to be al-Shabaab militants, launched three rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at the Quick Response Unit (QRU) camp before opening fire with PKM rifles and tracer rounds.
Officers on duty returned fire, forcing the attackers to retreat under the cover of darkness, with no injuries reported on the police side.
Authorities view this incident as an attempt to test the readiness of security forces in the border area, which has seen sporadic militant activity linked to cross-border incursions from Somalia.
A subsequent security operation at the site on Sunday recovered multiple spent cartridges, confirming the intensity of the exchange. Police stated that the attackers fled towards the border region, a common pattern in previous ambush attempts.
The Khorof Harar area, along with other locations like Konton, Mansa, and Kotulo, has been identified as an active zone for al-Shabaab in Wajir County.
This region has historically been a flashpoint for militant attacks, including a deadly 2019 incident where an improvised explosive device (IED) killed at least eight Kenyan police officers on patrol between Khorof Harar and Konton.
Despite these efforts and the presence of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), al-Shabaab remnants continue to pose a recurring threat in Kenya’s frontier counties.
Security agencies have strengthened deployments in recent months and urge community members to share intelligence to prevent future attacks.
