Al-Shabaab slaughters at least 50 in Kenya

one of the death sites

According to RT News reports, at least 50 people have been slaughtered during and police station, banks, restaurants, government offices and hotels were razed to the ground - as dozens of Somalia extremists besieged a small Kenyan coastal town for hours.

Gunmen with covered faced reportedly threw explosives in the local police station before entering and stealing several weapons. The extent of the damage is wide-ranging as major news agencies in Kenya have also reported two hotels, banks, restaurants and government offices being decimated in the attacks.

The Kenyan authorities have insisted that the attacks were by Al-Shabaab - Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked terror group.

“There were around 50 attackers, heavily armed in three vehicles, and they were flying the Shabaab flag,” Benson Maisori, deputy commissioner for the district, told AFP.

“They were shouting in Somali and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’” he added.

Lamu County police commander, Leonard Omollo, have confirmed that all of the 50 killed were men, though he was unwilling to speculate at the tome on who the perpetrators might have been.

"All the dead are men. There are no women or children, and this fairly complicates matters. We may not tell immediately whether the attacks were done by Al-Shabaab, the MRC [Mombasa Republican Council] or just mere criminals," Omollo said.

Al-Shabaab later released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

As at the time of this report, many residents were still unaccounted for, while others had suffered serious injuries. Others fled to the nearby forest for safety.