GRAPHIC PHOTOS: AL-SHEBAB ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS AMBUSH BUS AND EXECUTE 28 NON-MUSLIMS TRAVELLERS IN KENYA

 Islamic Shebab extremists ambushed a bus in Kenya before executing 28 non-Muslims at point-blank range in a revenge attack for police raids on mosques in the troubled city of Mombasa. The heavily-armed gunmen ambushed the bus early this morning as it headed for Nairobi from Mandera, a town that lies on the border with Somalia.

The extremists reportedly separated the Muslims from the 28 victims by forcing them to read versus from the Koran. Those that failed were shot in the head at point-blank range.

The death toll - which included 19 men and nine women - was confirmed by Kenya's Red Cross, which said it was attempting to retrieve the victims' bodies from the scene.

 

Some 60 passengers were on board the bus when it was seized by the gunmen.  Gunmen waved down the bus before spraying it with bullets when it did not stop. They then shot a rocket-propelled grenade at the vehicle, before commandeering the bus off the road .

 

They ordered the passengers to get off the vehicle before separating the travellers into Muslims and non-Muslims. The militants then ordered the non-Muslims to reboard the bus. But when the bus got stuck in the mud, the group of ten militants trooped the prisoners outside before carrying out the executions. They then fled to Somalia.

 

Some of the dead were public servants who were heading to Nairobi for the Christmas holiday. Police Inspector General David Kimaiyo told reporters that 19 men and nine women were killed.