Two soldiers were killed on Wednesday in a shootout with AP officers at Sheikh Barrow in Mandera County.
Local administrators said the Kenya Defence Forces troops were felled by friendly fire.
“The APs returned fire after coming under attack by the soldiers who mistook them for bandits. They had been having lunch at their camp when the incident took place,” one said.
Six other officers were airlifted to Nairobi with injuries.
The bodies were also transported to the city by air.
The terrorists earlier tried to attack a General Service Unit camp in the area but were repulsed.
KDF set up bases in the area to help flush out al Shabaab terrorists, who have seriously injured and killed many since Kenya joined the African Union Mission in Somalia in 2011.
Mandera, Lamu, Mombasa and Garissa are among counties that have borne the brunt of the militants’ attacks.