Two armed thugs killed in shootout

By Cyrus Ombati

NAIROBI, KENYA: Police shot dead two suspected thugs on Friday morning and recovered three guns from them in Ruaka area, Nairobi

Two pedestrians were injured in the incident that saw police recover an AK 47 rifle and two pistols that had ten bullets from the suspects.

Police say they suspect the two were on the way to commit a robbery in the city centre when officers from Special Crimes Prevention Unit stopped them but they refused. They engaged police in a shootout but they were killed.

Police say the pedestrians who were passing by were hit by stray bullets and have been rushed to hospital and are in stable condition.

Head of the police unit Said Kiprotich said the men in their late 20's were part of a larger gang that has been terrorizing motorists in the area and Nairobi at large. 

"We have been experiencing an upsurge in armed crime in the city and its environs and we believe these men are part of the gang that is behind the incidents," he said.

The bodies were later taken to the mortuary.