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Heavy gunfire and explosions have been heard at Garissa University College near the border with Somalia.
Two
people have been killed and four injured, officials say, but there are
fears the casualty toll could rise.
Kenyan troops are at the scene.
It
is not clear who is responsible for the attack, but Somali al-Shabab
militants have frequently targeted Kenya in the past four years.
Exchange of fire
There are reports that hostages have been taken by the gunmen but this has not been confirmed.
Witnesses have told local media that the attackers struck during morning prayers at the college mosque.
Smoke was reported to be coming from one of the buildings.
One
policewoman at the scene told Reuters: “Two guards who were manning the
gate at the university have been killed. We can hear gunshots from
inside the compound but at this point we can’t tell who is shooting at
who or what.”
One eyewitness, Bashkas Jugsooda’ay, told the BBC he
had spoken to one teacher who said students had come to her house at
05:00 (02:00 GMT), running away from the gunfire.
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| The Westgate attack in Nairobi in 2013 left 67 dead |
Another witness, Alinoor
Moulid, spoke of “intense gunfire and explosions”, adding: “According to
the students who fled, the gunmen were indiscriminate in their attack,
they were shooting everyone on sight.”
The BBC’s Anne Soy in
Nairobi says that because of its proximity to Somalia, Garissa is an
easy target for al-Shabab militants and there have been several attacks
in the past.
Garissa, 150km (90 miles) from the border with Somalia, has a large population of Kenyan Somalis.
Al-Shabab
has carried out a number of attacks in Kenya since 2011, when Kenyan
troops were sent to Somalia to help fight the militant group there.
The deadliest attack targeted the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi in September 2013, when 67 people were killed.
Al-Shabab is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia and is banned as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK.
Credit: BBC
