Al-Shabab massacres non-Muslims at Kenya quarry

Somali militants have killed 36 non-Muslim quarry workers near the north Kenyan town of Mandera, the BBC reported.

The attackers from the al-Shabab group shot the non-Muslims dead after separating them from Muslims, residents said.

There is growing concern in Kenya about security in regions bordering Somalia after a spate of attacks.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who summoned top security officials, is to address the nation on TV later on Tuesday.

The attack on the quarry workers took place earlier in the day. Witnesses said the victims were caught after midnight, while sleeping in their tents at the quarry in Kormey, 15km (nine miles) from Mandera town.

A driver who visited the scene of the attack, Ali Sheikh Yusuf, told the BBC most of the victims appeared to have been lined up, and shot in the head, at close range.

He said four were beheaded inside their tents, while three appeared to have escaped to Mandera town.

Al-Shabab said it carried out the attack, blaming the involvement of Kenyan forces in Somalia "and their ongoing atrocities therein, such as the recent air strikes on Muslims." The group put the number of killed at 40, higher than official accounts.