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. 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. 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. “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 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.
An al-Shabaab attack on a village near the Kenyan town of Mandera results in six deaths.