Gunmen attack bars in northeast Kenya, at least 2 dead

GARISSA, Kenya | Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:54pm EST

(Reuters) - Gunmen sprayed bullets at New Year revelers in two bars in northeastern Kenya on Sunday, killing at least two people, a witness and police said, the latest in a wave of attacks near the border with Somalia.

A worker at one of the pubs in Garissa town said gunmen approached in a vehicle, fired at the bars and then drove away.

"The guys fired from the vehicle. They first shot the guard, (and then) shot more bullets at those who tried to leave and those who were at the entrance," said the witness who declined to be named.

North Eastern provincial police commander Leo Nyongesa said two people had been confirmed dead. A medic, who refused to be identified, said 28 people had been wounded, including security officers and several women.

Kenyan forces crossed into Somalia in October to attack the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants, whom it blamed for a spate of kidnappings and cross-border attacks on its soil.

Al Shabaab has denied responsibility for the kidnappings and has vowed major retaliation against Kenya.

Kenyan police said on Saturday they were looking for 15 people whom they said had information on al Shabaab.

"I can see ambulances and the military. Local police have taken two bodies and four people who had gunshot wounds to Garissa general hospital," a Reuters photographer said.

Relatives at the hospital said a third person had died, he said, in the attack that struck at midnight.

Last week two grenades were hurled at a club in Wajir-district in northeastern Kenya, wounding at least seven people.

(Reporting by Noor Ali and Daud Yussuf; Writing by Yara Bayoumy)