Heavily armed cattle robbers have killed at least seven Kenyan police officers and injured 21 others as the police pursued the rustlers in the north of the country.

"The officers were in a team pursuing stolen cattle when they were ambushed," said a senior officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The officer stated that during Saturday’s gun battle near Baragoi, a dry northern region largely inhabited by nomad communities, "some of the bandits were wounded in the attack and others killed."

The injured officers were taken to a hospital in Nairobi for treatment, he added.

The police chief of the Rift Valley province, where the clash occurred, confirmed the incident.

"We had an incident involving our officers and there are casualties," he said.

Cattle theft and the clashes between robbers and cattle-owners claim scores of lives every year in Kenya, but it is uncommon for police officers themselves to be attacked.