In this photo taken Wednesday, a man believed to be a Kenyan undercover police officer is seen aiming a weapon at men lying on the road in the middle of traffic in Nairobi. (Daily Nation/Associated Press)

Kenya's largest newspaper in Nairobi published shocking images Thursday of what appear to be undercover police shooting three compliant suspects at point-blank range in the middle of the day on a busy Nairobi highway.

Kenya's Minister for Internal Security George Saitoti said Thursday three police officers are under investigation and could face charges. Saitoti said three men died in the incident.

The photos printed by the Daily Nation were taken on a cellphone by a passing motorist. The photos show two men lying face down and an undercover police officer pointing a gun near their bodies. A later photo shows two men with multiple bullet wounds to the head, who appear to be dead. A third killing also apparently took place.

The incident appeared to have occurred on a well-traversed highway opposite a busy regional airport in Kenya's capital. The paper reported that a police commander at the scene told journalists the suspects had drawn weapons on the police and fired at them, though the photos appear to show a far different tale.

The paper also reported that after the killings, the police turned their guns on journalists at the scene and threatened to shoot them.

Saitoti said in a news conference Thursday that it is not government policy to execute suspects. However, a 2009 UN report found extra-judicial killings by Kenyan police are systematic and widespread. Saitoti blamed incidents of extra-judicial killings on rogue police officers.