Rescue efforts underway after suspected Al-Shabaab attack on Kenyan hotel

Efforts are underway to rescue people trapped under the rubble of a building, which was badly damaged in an attack that killed at least 12 people at a guesthouse in Kenya's Mandera town, near the Somali border, on Tuesday.

Northeastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Saleh said the attackers detonated improvised explosive devices at the Bisharo Lodge at around 3:30 a.m.

"Part of the building collapsed, killing at least 12 people. Security officers on patrol responded immediately, cordoned the area and began search and rescue operations," Saleh said.

The official said the occupants of the hotel had been evacuated and six rescued alive from the debris so far. "Search and rescue operations are ongoing at the site," Saleh said.

A local police commander Ezekiel Sing'oe earlier said six people had been injured in the attack, four of them in serious condition.

Sing'oe also said some of the deceased were teachers who were on a work trip to Mandera.

There are fears the death toll could rise as there were still people trapped under the rubble.

Bomb experts had been sent to the scene to comb the rubber and rescue those trapped therein.

Police believe the attackers are Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants who have escaped towards the Somali border.

The attack happened when the tenants were asleep. Police say the attackers shot at people randomly after they had broken into the plot.

Saleh said investigations were underway. "Mandera town is usually under 24-hour security surveillance, and bomb experts are on site to establish source of the explosive and gather further evidence," he said.

Kenya has been facing a threat from Al-Shbaab since it sent its troops to Somalia to battle the Islamist militant group, as part of the African Union Mission in Somala (AMISOM) force.

Al-Shabaab militants killed more than 140 people, mostly students, in an attack on northeast Kenya's Garissa University in April 2015. Endit