Al-Shabaab gunmen attack university in Kenya

Apr 2, 2015 | International News, News

Kenya Defense Force soldiers walk near the perimeter wall where attackers are holding up at a campus in Garissa April 2, 2015. REUTERS/Noor Khamis

Kenya Defense Force soldiers walk near the perimeter wall where attackers are holding up at a campus in Garissa April 2, 2015. REUTERS/Noor Khamis

By Earl Abalajon

Masked gunman from Somalia’s  al-Shabaab movement stormed Garissa University in Kenya around 5 a.m. local time, leaving at least 70 people dead and over 79 injured as numbers are still coming in.

CNN reports as many as 500 have been rescued as the hostage situation is ongoing.

According to witnesses, the assailants rushed and shot at the university’s armed guards to gain access to the building, many describing the gunfire like “fireworks,” which interrupted morning prayer services.

Somalia based Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility for the assault.

Al-Shabaab’s military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters that the group took Christian hostages, sorting out the Muslims and releasing them.

The following Storify contains graphic images.