An attack by suspected Somali gunmen on a convoy of a Kenyan state governor killed three police officers and a regional elder

An attack by suspected Somali gunmen on a convoy of a Kenyan state governor killed three police officers and a regional elder, a regional official said on Saturday.

Al Shabaab said on Friday it carried out an attack in the area against a military convoy and said four soldiers were killed. The Kenyan army said only the governor's convoy was attacked, not any military ones, but gave no precise death toll.

Mandera County Commissioner Alex Nkoyo said on Saturday that three police officers and a regional elder were killed.

Al Shabaab has launched many attacks inside Kenya, saying it will continue until Kenyan forces are withdrawn from Somalia, where they are fighting alongside other African forces against the Islamist group.