At least nine people were shot and hacked to death in Kenya's coastal Lamu County today, in the latest attack on the area.<br/><br/>Police sources said Shabaab militants were believed to be behind the killings which took place in Jima and Pandaguo<br/>villages near the Somali border — an area that has seen a wave of recent attacks, mostly targeting the security forces. <br/><br/>All the victims were civilians. A senior officer at police headquarters in Nairobi confirmed the incident.<br/><br/>The Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu and also carries out regular attacks in neighbouring Kenya which has troops in Somalia as part of an African Union force.<br/><br/>Following the death of Kenya's Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery in hospital, President Uhuru Kenyatta in a televised address today said this was an unfortunate incident. <br/><br/>Kenya goes to the polls on August 8 with Kenyatta hoping to win a second and final four-year term.