Kenyan police helped two of their colleagues to escape by firing warning shots at anti-corruption officers who had detained them as part of an investigation into allegations that they had demanded a bribe from a foreigner, the anti-corruption commission has said.

The two officers, who work for the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, were arrested in the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday evening in a sting operation which saw anti-corruption investigators offer them 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($975; £760), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) said.

The officers had been handcuffed "but were rescued by their colleagues from Kabete Police Station who fired several rounds of ammunition as warning shots to facilitate the escape", the EACC added on its Twitter account.

A manhunt has been launched for the suspects, it said.

Police have not yet commented on the allegations. Twitter users, though, have been swift in their response.

That seems like a swipe at the anti-corruption commission, which announced last month that it intends to use the Bible to deter theft of public funds.