Al-Shabab militants suspected of attack killing 14 people in Kenya

SOKO MBUZI, Kenya, July 7 (UPI) -- Al-Shabab militants are suspected of attacking a village near Kenya's northeastern border with Somalia on Tuesday, killing 14 people and injuring 11 others, local officials said.

Mandera County Commissioner Alex Ole Nkoyo told Kenya's Standard Digital the gunmen opened fire around 1 a.m. in Soko Mbuzi village where mostly non-local quarry workers live near Mandera, Kenya.

He said the militants also used grenades to attack the victims.

"All indications are that they were Al-Shabaab militants. They destroyed metal grilled doors before they bombed the houses and opened fire on the innocent victims," Nkoyo said.

Witnesses said the attackers planted grenades at the entrance to tents, then threw gas bombs on the tents, causing the grenades to explode.

Kenya Red Cross officials told NDTV 11 people were taken for treatment at a local hospital, and some of those with more serious injuries were transferred by airplane to a hospital in Nairobi.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, which has been fighting to overthrow the government in Somalia, has increasingly expanded its attacks to neighboring Kenya.