Nairobi, Mar 3 (UNI) Kenyan police killed five al-Shabab terrorists and arrested four others in a security operation in Garissa County near the border with Somalia.

The police said the four suspects were arrested from their hideout in Fafi area where the security forces recovered two PKM machine guns, six AK47 rifles, and a number of improvised explosive devices making materials on Saturday.

According to the security report, "the four are being interrogated and are cooperating well with the police."

The intelligence-led operation caught the militants by surprise as they crossed into Kenya and established a temporary camp in Fafi area of Garissa.

The operation was launched after the police foiled plans by the militants to set up a base in Mangai, Lamu County in the coastal region on Wednesday and destroyed their cell. The police said a significant number of terrorists were killed and that the cell was in the last stages of orchestrating a reinforced ambush targeting security forces in the area.

The police said al-Shabab is using the Lamu area as a logistics base to attack local targets and retreat.

They have thwarted several planned attacks in the country, mostly in the northern region, which had been experiencing a lull in terms of terror attacks. The area is near the Somalia border, and the militants usually cross at will and stage attacks before escaping back. UNI/XINHUA AKS