Masked gunmen attack 'during morning prayers' at Kenya's Garissa University

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Gunmen stormed the campus of Kenya's Garissa University in dawn raid
At least 15 people have been killed and 60 others have been injured
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the latest terrorist atrocity in Kenya
Government claims 280 students rescued while 615 are still missing

By Frank Coletta and Sally Lee for Daily Mail Australia and Associated Press and Afp

Published: 00:34 EST, 2 April 2015 | Updated: 09:56 EST, 2 April 2015

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Al-Shabaab terrorists interrogated students whether they were Christian or Muslim as they went door-to-door during this morning's early morning massacre at a Kenyan university, killing at least 15 people.

The group raided the Garissa University campus shortly after 5am local time, overwhelming guards and killing anyone the suspected of being a Christian.

Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said that only 280 of the 815 students in the college have so far been accounted for.

Scroll down for video

The Kenyan army deployed a tank outside Garissa University as the siege continued into the afternoon

Kenyan police officers, pictured, take cover across from the University during the terrorist gun attack

Kenyan authorities warned about the possibility of al-Shabaab launching attacks earlier this week

The terrorists stuck mid-way through Holy Week, the most solemn period in the Christian calendar. Tonight, the Christian students were planning to celebrate the Last Supper in preparation tomorrow for Good Friday.

Kenyan security officials said one of the terrorists has been arrested after he tried to escape the compound.

They have also offered a $220,000 bounty for Mohammed Mohamud, known as Dulyadin, alias Gamadhere, who they suspect of masterminding the attack.

Kenyan intelligence officials believe that Mohamud is in charge of al-Shabaab's external operations against the country.

He is believed to have spent time teaching in a hard-line madrassa before becoming a senior member of the Somali terror organisation.

He claimed responsiblity for an earlier attack in Makka, Kenya, on November 22, 2014, when 28 people were murdered

Eye-witness Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from Tana dorm, which hosts both men and women, 150 meters (yards) away.

The campus has six dormitories and at least 887 students, he said.

A $220,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the capture of Mohamed Mohamud

Kenyan police managed to arrest one of the terror suspects, right, after he tried to flee from the campus

The remaining terrorists have been cornered in one of the four remaining dormitories according to Kenyan security officials.

He said that when he heard the gunshots he locked himself and three roommates in their room. 'All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are.

'The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabaab (Swaihi for we are al-Shabaab).'

Mr Wetangula said he could hear the gunmen interrogating fellow students hiding inside their rooms about their religion.

Heavily armed soldiers are meeting outside the Garissa University as part of the major security operation

Students fled the area, some of them in bare feet, after the al-Shabaab terrorists launched their attack

He said: 'If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die.'

The gunmen started to shoot rapidly and it was as if there was an exchange of fire, he said.

'The next thing, we saw people in military uniform through the window of the back of our rooms who identified themselves as the Kenyan military.'

The soldiers took him and approximately 20 others to safety.

As they were running, al-Shabaab snipers on top of a three-storey building attempted to gun them down.

He added: 'We started running and bullets were whizzing past our heads and the soldiers told us to dive.'

Gunmen storm Kenyan university killing 15, injuring 60

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi expressed its condolences over this morning's massacre in Garissa

Heavily armed police secured an outer perimeter as security forces prepared for a siege situation

Fellow student, Augustine Alanga, 21, described a panicked scene as gunshots rang out outside their dormitory.

He said he saw at least five heavily-armed terrorists wearing masks.

He said: 'I am just now recovering from the pain as I injured myself while trying to escape. I was running barefoot.'

He told journalists he crossed barbed-wire fencing to escape the massacre.

Mr Alanga said any students attending morning prayers at the university's mosque at 5.30am were not attacked.

Kenyan President says hostages were taken in attack

Only 280 of almost 900 students have so far been accounted for according to Kenyan government sources

The Kenyan military has launched a major security operation and has detained one terrorist trying to escape

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for this latest massacre which has so far claimed 15 lives

Aftermath of deadly attack on Kenyan university

It is understood that some of the terrorists have taken sniper positions and have been shooting police officers trying to retake the campus

One policeman said: 'I have counted 14 bodies of dead people being carried out of the campus by a Red Cross ambulance, and they include two of our officers who were also killed

'We are finding it difficult to access the compound because some of the attackers are on top of a building and are firing at us whenever we try to gain entry.'

A spokesman for al-Shabaab said it was claiming responsibility for the latest atrocity.

Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabaab's 'military operations spokesman' said: 'We sorted people out and released the Muslims.

'There are many dead bodies of Christians inside the building. We are also holding many Christians alive. Fighting still goes on inside the college.'

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta confirmed that a hostage situation had now developed between his men and the remaining gunmen, who are holding the students.

Troops have so far cleared three of the four dormitories.

President Kenyatta said he was going to fast-track the recruitment of 10,000 new police officers to tackle the al-Shabaab menace.

Just last week, the Chief Security Officer at the University of Nairobi feared an attack was imminent and issued a security warning - but it is unclear whether the same information was relayed to Garissa officials.

Students ran for their lives as the terrorists launched their indiscriminate attack on the college campus

Masked gunmen stormed the Garissa University campus, in Kenya's north-east, earlier today

It's believed the gunmen attacked in the early hours, 'during morning prayers', setting off explosions and exchanging gunfire with security services for several hours, Kenyan media and the Red Cross said.

Witness Milka Ndung'u told NTV that the gunfire was popping 'like fireworks' from about 5am local time.

Ms Ndung'u said she and other students ran for their lives and took cover in a nearby field, but when the gunmen took aim, they were forced to flee their hiding spot.

Another student, Augustine Alanga, told CNN he too was woken by the shooting and looked out to see colleagues running for cover.

Musa Yego said gunshots and explosions could be heard from a building on the campus, which is surrounded by police and a military compound.

Soldiers and police have already managed to rescue some of the trapped students on the campus

The gunmen said they already released any students they believed were fellow Muslims

A press release tweeted by Joseph Boinnet, the second Inspector General of Police of Kenya, confirmed the shooting began at 5.30am when attackers fired at guards at the main gate of the university.

'Police officers who were at the time guarding the students' hostels heard the gunshots and responded swiftly and engaged the gunmen in a fierce shootout,' the statement from police reads.

'However the attackers retreated and gained entry in the hostels.

Police further stated 'they are currently engaged in an elaborate process of flushing out the gunmen from the hostels'.

Al-Shabab militants have previously vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia.

The Somalia-based group has carried out several attacks in Garissa and across Kenya, including the 2013 attack on an upscale shopping mall in the capital Nairobi.

Kenya sent its troops into Somalia in 2011 to fight al-Shabaab militants following cross-border attacks.

Last month, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for attacks in the county of Mandera on the Somali border in which twelve people died.

Four of them died in an attack on the convoy of Mandera County Governor Ali Roba.

Police statistics show that 312 people have been killed in al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya from 2012 to 2014. Thirty-eight people were killed and 149 wounded in Garissa in the same period.