More security personnel have been mobilised and sent to parts of Mandera County after gunmen suspected to be al Shabaab militants raided a local hospital and terrorised guards on duty.
The incident happened on Saturday, April 13, police said.
The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is frequently breached by the terrorist group.
Guards at the Elwak Referral Hospital reported they were on duty when four men armed with rifles and in military attire walked to their sentries.
They gained entry into the facility after cutting part of the fence around it, police said.
They then held the guards hostage demanding to know the whereabouts of the doctors at the facility.
The guards said they were slapped by the gang while demanding the information from them.
After they failed to get any doctor on duty, they left towards Burahache area.
Police visited the area minutes later and established the gang gained entry into the facility through the chain link fence, which had some openings and were porous.
Police say they have increased operations in the area to address terror threats in the area.
This includes increased deployment of security officers in the area in general.
The area is near the Somalia border and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping back.
The border region has borne the brunt of repeated attacks from the militants who are at times aided by locals.
The terrorists have been planting explosives on the routes used by the security agencies.
Kenyan troops are in Somalia to pursue and suppress the activities of the terror group.
Somalia has not had a stable government after the fall of Siad Barre in 1991.
