The incident was confirmed by Dadaab Deputy County Commissioner Harun Kamau who said that the officers were on a routine patrol.

"There was an attack this morning targeting officers on normal patrol. Unfortunately, we lost five officers while three others have been injured," Kamau said.

Three others officers were critically injured and were airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

The deputy county commissioner added that reinforcements have also been sent to the area to pursue members of the Al-Shabaab militia, who are suspected to be behind the attack