GARISSA , Kenya — An official says gunmen suspected to belong to Somalia's al Qaeda-linked rebels have shot dead five people and seriously wounded three others at a restaurant in eastern Kenya.

The region's police chief Charlton Mureithi said Wednesday that supporters of Somalia's al-Shabab rebels are suspected because the dead include a senior prison warden, fitting into a pattern of prior attacks on security personnel. Mureithi says the attack took place at the Dune restaurant in Garissa town. In October gunmen shot dead a police officer and wounded another in Garissa. In November, three Kenyan soldiers and two police officers were shot dead in the town.

Kenya has had a series of explosive attacks since it sent it troops to Somalia to fight the al-Shabab rebels.