Gunmen kill Kenya quarry workers

Gunmen killed 36 workers in an attack on a quarry in Kenya's Mandera county, aid officials and the county governor said on Tuesday. The Al Qaeda-affiliated militant group al Shabab has claimed responsibility for the raid and vowed to carry out more attacks.

The attackers reportedly sprayed gunfire at tents where the workers were sleeping. Witnesses said the victims had been shot in the head, except for four who had been beheaded. There were fears others may have been abducted. According to the Kenyan news outlet Daily Nation, the victims were all non-Muslim.

The east African country has been subject to a number of al Shabab attacks and raids since it sent troops into Somalia to fight the militants there in late 2011.

In a separate attack on Monday night, one person was killed and 12 wounded after gunmen hurled grenades and fired into a bar in the town of Wajit, which, like Mandera, is close to the war-torn Somali border.

Less than two weeks ago, 28 people also died after militants hijacked a Nairobi-bound bus.

ksb/av (Reuters, AFP, dpa)