The Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for killing 36 people early Tuesday in northeastern Kenya.

The attack happened at a quarry near the town of Mandera where witnesses say gunmen struck as workers were sleeping in their tents.

An al-Shabab statement said its fighters had killed what they called “Kenyan crusaders” and were punishing Kenya for sending troops to fight in Somalia.

The Kenyan forces have been in Somalia since 2011 as part of a multi-nation African force that has helped push al-Shabab out of Somalia’s major cities.

The militants have carried out periodic attacks in Kenya, warning the government that more will come unless it withdraws the troops.

Last month, al-Shabab gunmen killed 28 people in the same region as Tuesday’s killings.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed expressed solidarity with Kenya, saying the two countries “stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight against the scourge of terrorism.”  

He said regardless of nationality or religion, al-Shabab is the only enemy, and that Somalia’s intelligence service is working to help Kenya identify those responsible for Tuesday’s attack.
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