Midnight attack leaves five dead in Lamu West, police say

Five people were killed on Sunday in Salama village, Lamu West, after unknown assailants attacked their homes.

According to Lamu West Sub-county Commander Harrison Njuguna, the incident happened at 1:00 am on Sunday, June 25.

"The five were dragged out of their houses and tied up with ropes before being butchered," Njuguna said, adding, "The motive behind the killings is suspected to be a dispute over grazing land."

He said a multi-agency security team had been launched to hunt for the killers.

Njuguna said investigations have also commenced to establish if the incident could be terror-related.

The killings occur a week after eight Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers were killed when their vehicle was destroyed by an improvised explosive device in a suspected attack by the al-Shabaab group.

The incident took place on Tuesday at the Kenya-Somalia border.