Suspected Al-Shabaab militants beheaded five individuals and set houses ablaze in the villages of Salama and Juhudi, located in Mkunubi Division of Lamu County in Kenya.

The attack unfolded on Saturday evening at approximately 7:30 PM when the assailants launched a raid on the villages. They forcefully evicted the victims from their homes, binding their hands and legs behind their backs before carrying out the brutal beheadings.

Among the victims was 19-year-old Barack Hussein, a Form Three student at Bakanja Secondary School, who was home for a mid-term break. The Lamu County Commissioner, Lious Rono, was informed about the attack but could not provide further details as he was en route to the scene.

Salama and Juhudi villages have become frequent targets of Al-Shabaab, enduring repeated attacks. A similar assault in January 2022 resulted in the deaths of six individuals, while more than ten houses were set ablaze.

This latest attack comes two days after Kenya’s Defense Minister, Adan Bare Duale, issued a stern warning to Al-Shabaab, declaring a war against the extremist group. He was speaking at Garissa University in which he said, was recovering from the terror attack in 2015.

“We are coming for you, Al-Shabaab! We will use our land forces, we will use our navy, we will use our Air force, and we will use our special forces to hunt you down both in Kenya and inside Somalia,” threatened Duale.