NAIROBI (DIIRAD) – Three Kenyan security officers were wounded Friday in a suspected landmine blast in eastern Garissa province, a provincial official said.

The explosion hit the car in which the men from Kenya's paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) were on patrol some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Somali border.

'Three GSU officers have suffered severe burns. Their vehicle hit a landmine and exploded near Modica here in Garissa,' said the official, Joseph Ole Serian, adding that the three were admitted to the provincial hospital.

Serian accused Somali Shebab militants of being behind the blast 'because they are notorious for such things.'

However the Garissa region is also known for sporadic clashes between local armed gangs over cattle or between rival ethnic groups.