This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/kenya-al-shabaab-attack-militants-a7347376.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Six killed in Al Shabaab attack in north east Kenya Six killed in al-Shabaab attack in north east Kenya
(about 1 hour later)
Suspected Islamist militants from the Somali group al Shabaab killed six people in an attack in north east Kenya on Thursday, a regional governor said. Six people were killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants from the Somali group al-Shabaab in north east Kenya on Thursday.
The Mandera region on the Somali border has often been targeted by al Shabaab, which says it will continue its campaign of attacks in Kenya until the Kenyan government withdraws its troops from Somalia where they are part of an African force. A public works in the town of Bulla, near the Somali border, was attacked at 2.45am while workers were sleeping.
“We have suffered another sad attack,” the governor of Mandera county, Ali Roba, wrote on Twitter, saying six people had been confirmed killed. “We have suffered another sad attack,” said Ali Roba, governor of Mandera county, where the incursion took place.
“If not for the quick response by our security forces, we would be talking of many more casualties now,” Roba told Reuters by telephone. “From the nature and style of the attack, it will obviously be al Shabaab.” "Out of 33 non locals residing in one plot, six were shot dead and 27 rescued by our security officers manning the sector," Mr Roba told the Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper.
Kenya's Daily Nation said on its website that the attack occurred early in the morning at a public works site. "Six lives are too many to lose. We condemn the attack which comes at a time when locals had started enjoying peace."
There was no immediate comment from al Shabaab. Mandera is in the extreme north east of the country. There are reports the victims were workers on controversial border fencing with Somalia, but The Independent has not been able to verify this information.
Repeated in attacks in Kenya by al Shabaab have killed hundreds of people in the past three years or so and hammered the country's vital tourism industry. Landmines and booby traps apparently laid by the attackers have been hampering efforts to secure the bodies of the victims.
The assaults have often been in the northeast, near the long and porous border with Somalia, but the group has also struck coastal areas popular with tourists and the capital Nairobi, where al Shabaab gunman attacked Westgate shopping mall in 2013. Kenyan targets have often been attacked by by al Shabaab, which says it will continue attacking the country until the Kenyan government withdraws its troops from Somalia, where they are part of an African Union force.
Reuters Mr Roba added: “If not for the quick response by our security forces, we would be talking of many more casualties now. From the nature and style of the attack, it will obviously be al-Shabaab.”
Al-Shabaab has not yet formally claimed responsibility.
Repeated in attacks in Kenya by the group have killed hundreds of people in the past three years and hammered the country's vital tourism industry.
Most significantly, the militant group's 2015 attack on Garissa University killed 148 people.
The assaults have often been in the northeast, near the long and porous border with Somalia, but the group has also struck coastal areas popular with tourists and the capital Nairobi, where al-Shabaab gunman attacked Westgate shopping mall in 2013.
Reuters contributed to this report