NAIROBI (Reuters) - Islamist militants from the Somali group al Shabaab killed six people in an attack in northeast Kenya on Thursday, the latest in a series of raids by the group in the region.

Mandera 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.

“We have suffered another sad attack,” the governor of Mandera county, Ali Roba, wrote on Twitter, saying six people had been confirmed killed.

“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.”

Kenya’s Daily Nation said on its website that the attack occurred early in the morning at a public works site.

“We are behind the Mandera attack in which we killed six Christians,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters, adding they had also hit a police vehicle using a roadside bomb.

Related Coverage Somali Islamist group says carried out attack in northeast Kenya

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.

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.</s>, NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 6 – Six people were killed in Mandera early Thursday morning, in an attack blamed on Al Shabaab terrorists, police and local authorities said.

The attack occurred at a village near Bulla Public Works that had a total of 33 non-locals, police said.

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“There was an attack in Mandera and unfortunately we lost six people,” Police chief Joseph Boinnet told Capital Fm on telephone.

He said the “attack occurred near the border and was targeting non locals but our officers moved swiftly and rescued 27 others.”

Mandera Governor Ali Roba too confirmed the attack saying “we have suffered yet another attack in Mandera and sadly we have lost 6 people.”

A senior police officer from the region said “there is no doubt this is the work of Al Shabaab who crossed back to their country but we will get them.”

The attack was the first in the region in the last one year, authorities said.

The area had been a target for Al Shabaab terrorists who launch attacks mainly targeting passenger buses, often only killing non locals or non muslims.

Similar attacks were launched in the past two years, leaving more than 60 people killed in separate incidents.</s>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.

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.

“We have suffered another sad attack,” the governor of Mandera county, Ali Roba, wrote on Twitter, saying six people had been confirmed killed.

“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.”

Kenya's Daily Nation said on its website that the attack occurred early in the morning at a public works site.

There was no immediate comment from al Shabaab.

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.

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.</s>Six people have been killed in Mandera County in an early morning attack by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.

Mr Roba said that out of 33 non-locals residing in one plot, six were shot dead while security officers manning the area rescued 27 others.

“This is yet another sad attack in Mandera where six have been confirmed killed [and] one seriously injured. This incident is the first [one] in Mandera Town [in] the last one year,” said Governor Roba.

He sent condolences to the families of the deceased while at the same time thanking security agencies for their quick response following the attack.

Following the attack, police immediately embarked on a mission to retrieve the six bodies.

But as they attempted to enter the building, a device exploded ripping off the roof of the house.

Mandera County Commissioner Frederick Shisia said they working on switching off communication networks to allow police to enter the building as they feared more explosives were in the house.

In September, security was heightened in Mandera after Al-Shabaab militants overran a Somali military camp near the Kenyan border.

Mr Shisia, then, said Kenyan security agents had been put on high alert because the militants were using military uniforms and vehicles stolen from the Kenyan army.</s>Six people were killed in an attack in northeast Kenya on Thursday by suspected Islamist militants from the Somali group al Shabaab, the regional governor and Kenyan media reported, the latest strike in an area by the militants.

The governor of Mandera county where the attack took place, Ali Roba, told Reuters that six people had been confirmed killed.

Kenya’s Daily Nation said on its website that the attack, which it blamed on al Shabaab, occurred early in the morning.</s>Six people have been confirmed dead following a suspected al-Shabaab attack on a residential house in Mandera, a town in the north-eastern part of Kenya.



The attack reportedly targeted a gated residential building mainly housing non-ethnic Somalis and non-Muslims, less than a mile from the volatile Somalia border town of Beled Hawa, according to media reports.



"We have suffered yet another attack in Mandera and sadly we have lost six people, Mandera Governor Ali Roba stated in a statement issued moments after the attack. We grieve with our families," he said in a tweet.



"The gang used a grenade to break the entrance before they shot at those who were sleeping. They escaped soon after the incident," The standard Newspaper reported quoting a senior officer in the area. As they were escaping they also threw another grenade damaging a nearby building. 



Police said the attackers shot at the victims randomly after they had broken into the plot. Police chief Joseph Boinnet told Kenyan media that there were 33 people in the compound when the attack took place. One was seriously injured and 25 others rescued. Two were missing hours later.



Residents said that the attackers, numbering about 20, were heavily armed. Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabaab's military operations spokesman is quoted by Reuters news agency confirming that they carried out the attack.



Al-Shabaab has fought to overthrow the government in Mogadishu since 2007. The Islamic insurgents started attacking Kenya after Kenyan forces were deployed in Somalia 2011 to fight the militia, alongside Uganda and Burundian troops.



They have since carried out attacks on civilians in different parts of Kenya. The most deadly included an attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi and another at Garissa University College in which 148 students were killed last year.



Mandera has in the past been a playing field for the militants who cross from the nearby Somalia border and strike before fleeing back. They have been targeting non locals and security agents in their attacks.</s>Six killed in suspected Shabaab attack in northeast Kenya

Six people were killed in a suspected attack by Shabaab militants on a residential compound in the restive northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera, police and local authorities said Thursday.

The attack targeted a gated residential building which mainly housed non-ethnic Somalis and non-Muslims, less than a kilometer from the volatile Somalia border town of Beled Hawa.

“We have suffered yet another attack in Mandera and sadly we have lost six people,” Governor Ali Roba said in a statement.

Police chief Joseph Boinnet told AFP that there were 33 people inside the compound when the attack took place in the early hours of the morning.

Security official Mohamud Ali Saleh said the attackers used explosives to gain access to the fortified building.

“We highly suspect the attackers are members of the Shabaab insurgent group, who have sneaked across the porous border,” he said.

“These criminal gangs are desperate to hurt innocent Kenyans since they were defeated badly and routed out of all their hideouts in the neighboring country.”

Several bus ambushes in the region have seen gunmen separate passengers by religion, killing non-Muslims.

The Shabaab has fought to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu since 2007, but turned its sights on Kenya when the army was sent into Somalia in 2011 to fight the Islamic insurgents.

Since then the Shabaab has carried out frequent attacks on civilians in different parts of Kenya, including a Nairobi mall, a northeastern university and coastal villages.</s>Somalia’s Islamist al-Shabaab militants on Thursday claimed an attack on a residential compound in the restive northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera that left six “Christians” dead, according to their Telegram account.

The statement said the attack in the early hours of Thursday was “planned... and killed Christians” in the Kenyan region which is mainly inhabited by ethnic Somali Muslims.

The attack targeted a gated residential building which mainly housed non-locals, less than a km from the volatile Somalia border town of Beled Hawa. “We have suffered yet another attack in Mandera and sadly we have lost six people,” Governor Ali Roba said in a statement.

Police chief Joseph Boinnet told AFP that there were 33 people inside the compound when the attack took place. The others escaped unharmed.

Several attacks in the region have seen al-Shabaab militants target Christians. In November 2014 gunmen flagged down a commuter bus, separated passengers by religion and executed 28 non-Muslims. And in a deadly attack that killed 148 people at Garissa University in northeastern Kenya in 2015, the gunmen lined up non-Muslim students for execution.</s>Six people were killed in a suspected attack by Shabaab militants on a residential compound in the restive northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera, police and local authorities said Thursday.

The attack targeted a gated residential building which mainly housed non-ethnic Somalis and non-Muslims, less than a kilometre from the volatile Somalia border town of Beled Hawa.

"We have suffered yet another attack in Mandera and sadly we have lost six people," Governor Ali Roba said.

"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 Nation.

The attack took place in the early hours of the morning at around 2.45am (2345 GMT).

Security official Mohamud Ali Saleh said the attackers used explosives to gain access to the fortified building.

"We highly suspect the attackers are members of the Shabaab insurgent group, who have sneaked across the porous border," he said.

"These criminal gangs are desperate to hurt innocent Kenyans since they were defeated badly and routed out of all their hideouts in the neighbouring country."

David Kimani, a survivor, searches for his belongings in one of rooms attacked by the Al-Shabaab in Mandera. He said he hung on the ceiling until the militants left the room. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

There was an explosion as police attempted to get into the building to retrieve the bodies, ripping off one of the roof tops.

Police said landmines planted in compound were delaying their attempts to retrieve the dead. Bomb experts were expected to detonate the explosives.

Several bus ambushes in the region have seen gunmen separate passengers by religion, killing non-Muslims.

The Shabaab has fought to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu since 2007, but turned its sights on Kenya when the army was sent into Somalia in 2011 to fight the Islamic insurgents.</s>Six people have been killed in a suspected attack by Shabaab militants on a residential compound in the northeastern Kenyan province of Mandera. By Simon Maina (AFP/File)

Nairobi (AFP) - Somalia's Islamist Shabaab militants on Thursday claimed an attack on a residential compound in the restive northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera that left six "Christians" dead, according to their Telegram account.

The statement said the attack in the early hours of Thursday was "planned... and killed Christians" in the Kenyan region which is mainly inhabited by ethnic Somali Muslims.

The attack targeted a gated residential building which mainly housed non-locals, less than a kilometre (0.6 miles) from the volatile Somalia border town of Beled Hawa.

"We have suffered yet another attack in Mandera and sadly we have lost six people," Governor Ali Roba said in a statement.

Police chief Joseph Boinnet told AFP that there were 33 people inside the compound when the attack took place. The others escaped unharmed.

Security official Mohamud Ali Saleh said the attackers used explosives to gain access to the fortified building.

"We highly suspect the attackers are members of the Shabaab insurgent group, who have sneaked across the porous border," he said.

"These criminal gangs are desperate to hurt innocent Kenyans since they were defeated badly and routed out of all their hideouts in the neighbouring country."

Saleh said that security officers who were carrying out regular patrols of the border heard gunshots and explosions and quickly responded.

Several attacks in the region have seen Shabaab militants target Christians.

In November 2014 gunmen flagged down a commuter bus, separated passengers by religion and executed 28 non-Muslims.

And in a deadly attack that killed 148 people at Garissa University in northeastern Kenya in 2015, the gunmen lined up non-Muslim students for execution.

The Shabaab has fought to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu since 2007, but turned its sights on Kenya when the army was sent into Somalia in 2011 to fight the Islamic insurgents.

Since then the militants have targeted civilians in different parts of Kenya, including a dramatic assault on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall in which at least 67 people were killed.
An al-Shabaab attack on a village near the Kenyan town of Mandera results in six deaths.