14 people killed in Islamist attack

No fewer than 14 people have been reportedly killed following today's attack on Garissa University College by Somalian militant group, al Shabaab, Reuters reports.

Th Red Cross also said 50 students had been freed.

Earlier today, Islamist militants stormed a university campus near Kenya's border with Somalia, taking Christian students hostage and battling security forces over several hours.

Somalian militant group al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda, and is responsible for the 2013 Westgate Mall attack has claimed responsibility for today's pre-dawn raid and said it was holding many Christian hostages inside.

In a statement, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, who is al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman said:

"We sorted people out and released the Muslims, fighting still goes on inside the college."

Kenya's police force head, Joseph Boineten said men of the police force and soldiers surrounded and sealed off Garissa University College and were attempting to flush out the gunmen, saying further that the attackers had shot indiscriminately while inside the university compound.

Meanwhile Grace Kai, a student at the Garissa Teachers Training College near the university, told Reuters that there had been warnings that an attack in the town could be imminent.

According to her, strangers who were suspected to be terrorists were spotted in Garissa town earlier in the week and on Tuesday, the college was closed and they were released to go home. The campus however remained open.