At least 12 people were killed when attackers belw up up part of a hotel in the northeastern Kenya's Mandera area on Tuesday, reports said.

The raid has been claimed by Al Shabaab militants from neighboring Somalia, a Reuters report said.

The group said it had set out to kill non-Muslims in the area - the scene of numerous assaults by the fighters.

Rescuers pulled at least six survivors from the rubble and were searching for more, North Eastern Regional Commissioner Mohamoud Saleh said in a statement, the report said.