Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility Tuesday for a
nighttime attack on two homes in northeastern Kenya's Mandera County.
The attack killed at least 14
people and injured 11 others, according to Mandera County Commissioner Alex
Nkoyo.
The compound housed primarily
quarry workers.
The attack began around 1 a.m.
when a group of men using a variety of weapons attacked the compound, Nkoyo
told CNN.
The commissioner said an
explosive device -- something other than a hand grenade -- was used to blow
open a gate to the compound. The attackers then entered and started shooting.
Many people were sleeping
outside to escape the heat. When the attack began, those who were able to do so
ran inside the houses, followed by the gunmen, Nkoyo said.
Attackers disappeared into the bush
Those killed were local laborers and workers from
other parts of Kenya, he said. A woman, identified as the landlady of the
compound, was also among the dead, he said.
Judging by the number of
bullets at the attack site, Nkoyo said, the estimated number of attackers was 10
to 15, with more as backup.
The commissioner said local
security forces responded within 10 minutes, and as their vehicles approached,
the attackers dispersed into the bush and surrounding villages. Some may have
crossed the border into Somalia, he said.
Mandera County borders Somalia
and Ethiopia.
Nkoyo said Mandera has been
under heightened security since attacks there last year on a bus that killed at
least 28 people and on a quarry, where 36 people were killed.
Al-Shabaab's military
operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu Musab, said Tuesday's attack had
killed more than a dozen people whom he described as Kenyan Christians.
Al-Shabaab is an Islamic
terrorist group that operates primarily in Somalia.
The attack was part of
Al-Shabaab's Ramadan offensive against Kenya, said the spokesman, speaking on
Al-Shabaab's main broadcaster, Radio Andalus.
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