Gunmen in northern Kenya have killed at least 30 police officers who were hunting for cattle rustlers.

Kenyan police say the officers were ambushed Saturday as their truck drove through the remote northern Baragoi district.

Search and rescue teams found 11 bodies on Saturday and another 19 the next day. Nine survivors of the attack have been hospitalized.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Police suspect rustlers were behind another attack in Baragoi last month that killed 13 people.

Cattle theft and related violence are fairly common in arid northern Kenya, but direct attacks on police are rare.

Government officials said they are shocked by the killings, and expressed concern about the preparedness and capacity of security forces.