Officials in Kenya say at least seven people have been shot dead in an attack on a mosque in a village in north-eastern Kenya near the border with Somalia.

The people killed were believed to be worshipping in the dawn prayer (Fajir Prayers) when gunmen stormed the mosques and raided it resulting in the casualties.

Villagers told the BBC Newsday reporter that 10 gunmen opened fire as people were leaving the mosque after early morning prayers for what they describe as very strange.

They further added that five men were killed and then two women who heard shots and came to see what was happening were also shot dead.

The attack comes less than two weeks before elections in Kenya where security is a problem and the Chief Justice of the country Supreme Court was issued with death threats this week by unknown people.

Garissa county commissioner Maalim Mohammed told the AFP news agency that two people were also wounded in the shooting in addition to the seven people killed.

“Heavily armed men stormed a mosque and shot at people indiscriminately, the two women had responded to the screams from the mosque when they were shot”, he said.

The village is about 45km (28 miles) north-east of Dadaab refugee camp, which houses some 500,000 people who have fled years of conflict and drought in Somalia.

In the past year, the region has also been prone to attacks blamed on al-Qaeda-aligned Islamist militants in Somalia Al Shabab.

The Somali Al Shabab group vowed to take revenge when Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October 2011 to help the UN-backed government seize territory from the militants.

Al Shabab have not claim responsibility of the attack but many suspect that they are behind the attack in bid to destabilize the region before the elections which is due in two weeks time to create fear and panic.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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