The advisory comes days after Washington lifted a similar ban for Mombasa and Lamu in Coast Province. (READ: US lifts Mombasa travel advisory)

The US embassy in Nairobi on Monday said that a series of terror attacks in the region that borders war-torn Somalia, including twin attacks on churches in Garissa in which 17 people died on July 1, made North Eastern unsafe.

While the ban does not affect Americans who are not government employees, the embassy told them it would be risky to visit the area.

“As a result of recent events (attacks) and threats, US Government employees, contractors, grantees, and their dependants are prohibited from travelling to the province, including the cities of El-Wak, Wajir, Garissa, Dadaab, Mandera, and Liboi,” says the embassy dispatch sent to its citizens.

It added that government employees would also be restricted from travelling to some parts of the Coast like “north of Pate Island, including Kiwayu and north of Kiunga.”

The embassy noted that 17 terror attacks had occurred in Kenya since last year with nine of them happening in North Eastern.

The attacks, involving grenades and other explosives, have claimed 48 lives and left about 200 people injured.