Security forces bore the brunt of terror violence in Kenya in 2025, even as the overall number of attacks and fatalities declined, a new report shows.
Twenty-three security officials were killed and 78 injured in terror-related incidents last year, accounting for nearly half of all fatalities and more than four-fifths of those injured.
The data is contained in the ninth edition of the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies’, Terror Attacks and Arrests Observatory, which tracks verified terror-related incidents in the country.
The report recorded 72 terror attacks in 2025, down from 85 in 2024, a 15 per cent decline. Fatalities also fell from 107 to 50.
However, security personnel remained the main targets in many of the attacks, the figures in the report show.
Of the 50 people killed, 23 were security officials, compared with 10 civilians, 16 suspected al Shabaab militants and one government official. Security personnel also accounted for 78 of the 94 people injured.
About half of the 72 attacks targeted security officials, mainly through armed assaults and roadside explosive attacks.
The attacks were concentrated in Mandera, Garissa, Lamu and Wajir, which accounted for all incidents recorded by the observatory.
Mandera recorded the highest number of attacks, at 32, with 13 fatalities. Garissa had 23 attacks and the highest number of deaths, at 20, while Lamu recorded 13 attacks and 13 fatalities. Wajir recorded four attacks and three deaths.
Security personnel were targeted in 15 attacks in Mandera, 13 in Garissa, nine in Lamu and two in Wajir.
Although attacks targeting security officials declined from 39 in 2024 to 35 in 2025, they remained a major feature of the terror threat.
The attacks included ambushes and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks targeting police and military personnel.
In February, one Kenya Defence Forces officer was killed and 20 others injured in an ambush in Mandera.
In July, three KDF soldiers were killed and seven injured when their vehicle ran over an IED in Lamu. Seven police officers were also injured in a separate IED attack in Mandera.
National Police Reservists suffered the highest number of deaths among security personnel, with eight killed during the year.
Five KDF personnel and five Special Operations Group officers were also killed.
Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies(CHRIPS) said NPRs remained important in areas with limited security presence and high levels of risk, helping to repel attacks by suspected al Shabaab militants.
Firearms remained the most commonly used weapons, featuring in 33 attacks. Explosives were used in 19 incidents, while firearms and explosives were used together in another 11 attacks.
The report also highlights a rise in kidnappings in the affected counties.
Eighteen people were kidnapped in 2025, up from three in 2024 and the highest number recorded by the CHRIPS monitoring hub in five years.
Mandera accounted for 14 kidnappings and Garissa four, with victims including local administrators and civilians.
Mandera has remained the country's most affected county over the past five years, although attacks fell from 41 in 2024 to 32 last year.
Garissa, however, has recorded a sustained increase over the longer period, rising from two attacks in 2021 to 23 in 2025.
The findings present a mixed picture of Kenya's terror threat.
While attacks and fatalities fell significantly last year, militants continued to target the security personnel deployed to contain them.
The concentration of attacks in the country's border and coastal counties also highlights the continuing security challenges facing communities and security agencies operating in these areas.
