UPDATE 1-At least eight killed in a suspected Islamist militant attack in Kenya

At least eight people were killed on Friday when suspected Islamist militants attacked a bus in Kenya near the border with Somalia, the private Citizen TV reported.

Stephen Ng'etich, the police commander for Wajir county, told Reuters the bus had been attacked in an area called Kutulo, without providing details of casualties. "A group of armed men ambushed a bus travelling to northern Kenya this evening ... We suspect al Shabaab was involved," he said, referring to the Islamist militant group from Somalia.

Ismail Adan, a resident of the area, said those who were killed were ordered out of the bus and shot at close range. The police did not immediately comment on his account. Al Shabaab has targeted Kenya many times since the East African nation sent its troops across the border to fight the militants in their homeland in October 2011.