At least nine people were shot and hacked to death in Kenya's coastal Lamu County early Saturday, in the latest attack by militants in the region. Police sources said Shabaab militants were believed to be behind the killings which took place in the villages of Jima and Pandaguo near the Somali border, an area that has seen a wave of recent attacks, mostly targeting the security forces. "Nine people were killed, some were shot dead and others hacked (to death)," said a regional police officer who was not authorised to speak to the press.
All the victims were civilians and some were beheaded, according to police. Another senior officer in Lamu said that a search was underway for any other bodies but that progress was hampered by fears of improvised explosive devices that might have been planted in the area. The officer said the number of attackers was not yet known. Kenyan forces are pursuing the perpetrators who fled. "A security operation is still underway to try and get the attackers," said James Ole Serian, who is in charge of a military operation in the nearby Boni Forest.
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