'Many Dead Bodies' As Hostages Taken At College

Militants say they have released all Muslims but are "holding many Christians alive" after storming a university in Kenya.

An "unknown number of student hostages" have been taken by masked terrorists who have killed at least 15 people after storming a university in eastern Kenya.

Two police officers are among the dead following heavy gunfire and explosions in a campus building at Garissa University.

At least 65 others have been wounded.

Somalia's al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility.

"We sorted people out and released the Muslims," said spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab.

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

One of the suspected gunmen was arrested as he tried to flee, according to Kenya's interior ministry.

The Red Cross said 50 students have been safely freed, while the interior ministry said 280 of 815 students had been accounted for.

Kenya Police Chief Joseph Boinet said: "Gunmen forced their way into Garissa University by shooting at the guards manning the main gate at around 5.30am.

"The gunmen shot indiscriminately while inside the university compound.

"Police... engaged the gunmen in a fierce shootout; however, the attackers retreated and gained entry into one of the hostels."

A gunfight between security services and the perpetrators lasted several hours, according to the Red Cross.

The area has been sealed off and the army called in to try and "flush out" the attackers.

The National Disaster Operations Center said on Twitter that students had been evacuated from three of four dorms.

The gunmen have been cornered in the other.

Students reported seeing five masked attackers.

Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from a dorm.

"All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots; nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are," he said.

"The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabab (Swahili for we are al-Shabab).

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

Grace Kai, a student at a neighbouring college, said there had been warnings of an imminent attack.

"Some strangers had been spotted in Garissa town and were suspected to be terrorists," she said.

"Then on Monday our college principal told us... that strangers had been spotted in our college. On Tuesday we were released to go home, and our college closed, but the campus remained in session, and now they have been attacked."

Kenya's northern and eastern regions, which border Somalia, have been most affected by attacks blamed on al Shabaab Islamists from Somalia.

The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have vowed to take retribution against Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia.

Al Shabaab was responsible for the deadly attack in 2013 on the Westgate shopping mall. At least 67 people were killed when a group of gunmen rampaged through the centre in Nairobi.