Seven people were killed when gunmen attacked a bus on the Kenyan coast where previous attacks left 87 dead, the Kenya Red Cross said yesterday.

The attack happened at Corner Mbaya, three miles from the coastal town of Witu in Lamu county, last night. Two of those killed were security officials and five were civilians, the humanitarian group said. Authorities believe many of the passengers on the 52-seater bus fled into a nearby forest. Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants from Somalia claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al-Shabab said the attackers were sending a message to Kenya that they cannot stop the operations. Al-Shabab has vowed to carry out attacks on Kenyan soil to avenge the presence of Kenyan troops fighting the militants in Somalia.