ISIOLO, Kenya, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Three Kenyan police reservists were killed in a bandit attack in northern Kenya on Wednesday night, the police said.

Rashid Hulbale, Igembe Central divisional police commander, said on Thursday that two other people were left with serious injuries during the incident, which occurred along the border of Igembe Central and Isiolo North regions, and taken to the local hospital.

Hulbale said the armed bandits stole three guns but one has been recovered, noting that more security forces have been deployed to flush out the bandits in the area.

Residents said the incident happened when the reservists tried to block the bandits from stealing animals from villages in the area.

The residents said the bandits escaped without stealing the targeted animals. This is the latest such incident to happen in the region in a series that have seen almost a dozen of people killed and tens of animals stolen.

The local police chief said bandits from Turkan reportedly invaded and suddenly attacked and a shootout broke.

Cattle rustling incidences are common in the region and it turns bloody whenever security agencies intervene to stop it. Police have in the past reacted with force that also left many bandits killed and other villagers injured.

The east African nation is surrounded by neighboring countries that for a long time experienced civil strife which immensely contributed to the influx of the illegal weapons into the hands of gangsters and cattle rustlers.