NAIROBI, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police said on Saturday that it foiled an al-Shabab attack killed three militants in Garissa, a northeast county that borders Somalia.
Kenya Police Spokesman Charles Owino confirmed that Somali Islamists attacked a police border patrol unit camp in Yumbis, Garissa County, on Friday night.
"Our officers effectively engaged them and with quick reinforcement from special forces, the attackers were repulsed," Owino said in a statement issued in Nairobi, adding that all police officers are safe.
"A combined team of our security agencies is now on the ground pursuing the assailants," he said.
Security agencies remain on high alert to suppress and counter the al-Qaida-allied terrorist group's heightened activity along the border with Somalia, Owino said.
Local residents said the attackers also destroyed a telecommunication mast belonging to mobile service provider Safaricom.
They said the militants were sighted near the village earlier on Friday.
Residents said the security forces engaged the attackers, resulting in heavy exchange of fire.
A local police officer, who demanded anonymity, said no civilians were hurt in the incident, but a Safaricom mast was hit, cutting communication in Yumbis and its environs.
The latest attack came just a week after seven police officers were killed by an improvised explosive device in neighboring Wajir County.
