Kenyan officials say suspected Islamic militants have beheaded three people and burnt houses in an attack along the Indian Ocean coast.



Lamu County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo says gunmen believed to al-Shabaab militants attacked Maleli village near Witu town.



Beheadings by al-Shabaab have been relatively rare in Kenya, where the extremist group has carried out dozens of deadly attacks over the years. The group in July was accused of beheading nine people in another village in Lamu County and has stepped up attacks in East African country in recent weeks.



The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab has vowed retribution after Kenya sent troops across the border to Somalia in 2011 to fight the group, which last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa.