Editor's note: Some may find the imagery below to be disturbing.
At least 36 quarry workers were killed early Tuesday in northern Kenya in an attack carried out by al-Shabab.
The killings happened in Mandera County near the border with Somalia and the attackers escaped, said Kenyan police chief David Kimaiyo.
The workers were ambushed at the quarry as they slept, said other police sources. The gunmen singled out non-Muslims and killed them, with some shot dead and others decapitated, the police officials said.
Update: At least four of the victims of #ManderaQuarryAttack were beheaded. Others shot in the back of the head. #Mandera #Kenya #KOT— Hamza Mohamed (@Hamza_Africa) December 2, 2014
In a statement, Somalia's Islamic militant group al-Shabab said the attack was part of a series in response to "Kenya's occupation of Muslim lands and their ongoing atrocities therein."
Update: I'm told #Mandera residents who were on foot got to the scene of the #ManderaQuarryAttack before the police. pic.twitter.com/K1VLPb8en6— Hamza Mohamed (@Hamza_Africa) December 2, 2014
Kenya's Red Cross said it was on the ground undertaking an assessment of the attack.
The quarry attack came hours after a hotel in Wajir, also in northern Kenya, was hit by a grenade and gunfire attack which killed one person and wounded 13, said police.
Last week, al-Shabab attacked a bus in Mandera County in which 28 non-Muslims were separated from other passengers and shot dead.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press