Suspected Al-Shebab fighters have stormed Mandera Town, a northern Kenyan village, located close to the border with Somalia. At least 14 people were killed in the assault, with 11 others being wounded.
The attack happened at Soko Mbuzi, a livestock market just outside the town of Mandera, with the attackers opening fire at workers early on Tuesday morning.
Mandera County Commissioner Alex Ole Nkoyo describes the attack, emphasizing that the people were sleeping when the gunmen opened fire, according to Yahoo! News.
"People were sleeping when the attack happened, they just came and hurled explosives in the houses," he said.
He further confirms that 14 people died in the attack as of date.
Secretary-general of the Kenya Red Cross Abbas Gullet states that among the injured, four needed to be taken to the capital, Nairobi, for ample medical treatment, reports Al Jazeera. He also states that most of the victims were people who worked in the area.
"This (is) what we understand, (they) were quarry workers. They were sleeping when they were attacked in the early hours of this morning," Gullet said.
So far, there has been no group that has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicions are high that the Somali-led Shebab militants were behind the grisly incident.
"These were Al-Shebab from the nature of the attack. They used explosives and guns," Nkoyo stated.
Al-Shebab fighters have carried out a number of attacks in Kenya due to the country's military involvement in the Somalian crisis.
