2 Cuban doctor abducted in Mandera County suspected Al Shabaab attack

Two Cuban doctors working in Kenya have been reported missing in Mandera County.

The two are suspected to have been kidnapped by Al Shabaab militia.

Nation reported that the two were being guarded by a police officer who was gunned down and killed.

Police officers stand by dead bodies after an attack by Islamist militants from the Somali group al Shabaab in Mandera, Kenya, October 6, 2016. Reuters

Reports further indicate that the doctors were traveling on an unidentified road when the attack happened. Their fate remains unknown.

9 a.m. ambush in Mandera

The two were on their way to work at around 9 a.m. on Friday morning when the ambush took place.

The two Cuban doctors who were assigned to the county were identified as Dr Herera Correa, a general practitioner and Dr Landy Rodriguez, a surgeon.

A recent media report of the two indicated that they had started learning Swahili and Somali languages to ensure that they better attended to patients.

It was also reported that local doctors fled the region when the two arrived for fear of Al Shabaab attacks leaving the two to work assisted by only one local doctor.

"Before I came here, I checked the internet and saw that Mandera is very dangerous with frequent attacks from Al Shabaab but we have worked in far worse conditions," Dr Rodriguez said during a past interview.