Al-Shabab Kills 10 People in Kenya Attack

Local Editor

At least 10 people have been killed in a new attack by extremist militants near Kenya's coastal town of Mpeketoni, local police say.

They say the gunmen raided at least one village overnight.

Somalia's al-Shabab group said it had carried out the attack, telling Reuters that its "operations in Kenya will continue".

At least 48 people died after the al-Qaeda-linked group attacked hotels and a police station in the town on Sunday.

Al-Shabab said it was revenge for the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia.

Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 to help the weak UN-backed government defeat the militants.

"We raided villages around Mpeketoni again last night," al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters on Tuesday.

Kenyan police said that the gunmen raided the village of Poromoko, near Mpeketoni.

In Sunday's attack, al-Shabab appeared to target men, in many cases leaving their wives and children unharmed.

After last year's Westgate attack in Nairobi - al-Shabab's most deadly raid in Kenya - the group received a lot of criticism for killing women and children.

The US and UK have issued advisories to their nationals to keep away from parts of the Kenyan coast and hundreds of British tourists were evacuated last month.

Last week, the UK closed its consulate in the port city of Mombasa.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team