Kenya: Al-Shabab Kills 14 in Gun Attack

Local Editor

At least 14 people had been killed and several others wounded in a gun attack near a military camp at the Kenyan border with Somalia.

It is believed the victims were workers from a local quarry in Mandera County in the north-east of the country.

"The attack occurred at a village near a large livestock market just outside the town" of Mandera in Kenya's far northeastern region in the early hours of Tuesday, said a local police officer, whose name was not mentioned in the reports.

According to the source, 14 people were killed and 11 others wounded in the violence.

Moreover, residents reported that they had heard two explosions, followed by heavy gunfire in the middle of a night.

Mandera County Commissioner Alex Ole Nkoyo stated that people were sleeping when the gunmen struck.

"These were al-Shabab from the nature of the attack. They used explosives and guns," he added.

Kenya Red Cross said it was sending an aircraft to the scene to fly the injured to hospitals in Nairobi.

Al-Shabab militant group, which operates out of Somalia, had not confirmed its involvement, but its militants had been behind a series of similar attacks in the region.
This latest incident was likely to put the spotlight on the Kenyan authorities again over their handling of the security situation.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team