Terrorists strapped themselves with explosives and exploded when shot

Some Christians were beheaded and four terrorists have been killed

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the latest terrorist atrocity in Kenya

The death toll has risen to 147, country's disaster response agency said

Up to 150 people have been murdered by masked al-Shabaab terrorists who stormed a Kenyan university and shot and beheaded Christians in the worst attack in the country in 17 years.

The group raided the Garissa University College campus shortly after 5am local time yesterday, overwhelming guards and murdering people they suspected of being a Christian.

The death toll rose to 147 last night and the 13-hour siege ended. A total of 79 were injured and 587 were led to safety.

Most of those killed were students but two police officers, one soldier and two watchmen are among the dead.

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Distraught: Paramedics help a woman injured during the attack on the Garissa University College campus

Safety: A student hostage is escorted out of Garissa University College after Kenya Defence Forces ended a siege by terrorist gunmen

A Kenyan soldier runs for cover near Garissa University College's perimeter wall where 147 people have been killed

Rescued: A woman is led to safety from the building where she was held hostage by al-Shabaab terrorists

Soldiers pictured at Garissa University College campus, where 147 people have been murdered by al-Shabaab terrorists

Kenya's interior minister, Joseph Nkaissery said the four terrorist gunmen had strapped themselves with explosives. When officers shot at them, they exploded 'like bombs' and shrapnel injured officers.

Kenyan security officials at the scene said dozens of hostages were freed and four of the gunmen, believed to be armed with AK-47s, were killed.

Last night, Kenya's National Disaster Operations Center said all students were accounted for.

The attack is believed to be the worst terrorist attack on Kenyan soil since the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1998 which killed more than 200 people.

The terrorists stuck mid-way through Holy Week, the most solemn period in the Christian calendar. Last night, the Christian students were planning to celebrate the Last Supper in preparation for Good Friday.

Pictures on social media of one of the dorms showed bloodstained floors, bodies of male students and splintered wooden chairs.

Treatment: Paramedics attend to an injured Kenyan student as she is wheeled into Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi

An injured man on a stretcher is taken to Kenyatta National Hospital following the attack by al-Shabaab terrorists

Medical treatment: An injured man arrived at Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya's capital, Nairobi following the raid by terrorists

Wounded: A man with a leg injury arrived at hospital in Kenya's capital. The death toll has risen to 147

#ONEKENYA- 'A NATION UNBOWED' People worldwide have been showing their support for the people of Kenya on Twitter using the hashtag #onekenya. Ulrika Modéer, the Swedish government's State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation, wrote: '‏Sweden stands with you #OneKenya.' A tweet from the account of Kenya's Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government read: '#OneKenya let us unite as a country and fight the enemy. Help us find the mastermind.' One Twitter user wrote: 'Thoughts go out to those affected by the #GarissaAttack, truly hoping for peace for such a beautiful country #OneKenya.' Another tweeted: '147 students killed in cold-blooded raid on campus #OnMyKnees4MyNation #OneKenya.' This image is being posted on Twitter alongside messages of support Advertisement

Kenyan security officials said one of the terrorists was arrested after he tried to escape the compound.

They have also offered a £145,000 bounty for Mohammed Mohamud, known as Dulyadin, alias Gamadhere, who they suspect of masterminding the attack.

Kenyan intelligence officials believe that Mohamud is in charge of al-Shabaab's external operations against the country.

He is believed to have spent time teaching in a hard-line madrassa before becoming a senior member of the Somali terror organisation.

He claimed responsiblity for an earlier attack in Makka, Kenya on November 22, 2014, when 28 people were murdered.

Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinet announced that a curfew had been introduced from dusk to dawn - 6.30pm to 6.30am - for four regions near the Somalia border as a security precaution.

Student Omar Ibrahim told News24 Kenya: 'I was in a group that was saved by the KDF (Kenya Defence Forces) just after 1pm.

'We saw many many bodies, some did not have heads. I don't know why someone would do such a thing.'

Eye-witness Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from Tana dorm, which is home to both men and women, 150 yards away.

The campus has six dormitories and at least 887 students, he said.

Kenyan police managed to arrest one of the terror suspects, right, after he tried to flee from the campus

The death toll rose to 147 tonight and the siege ended, according to the country's disaster response agency. A total of 79 were injured, 587 were led to safety

Most of those killed were students but two police officers, one soldier and two watchmen are among the dead

Tragedy: Last night, officials confirmed the security operation is now over but the death toll has reached 147

Kenyan soldiers and police officers pictured at Garissa University College in Kenya where 147 people were murdered by terrorists yesterday

Gunfire: A Kenya Defense Force soldier takes cover near the perimeter wall of Garissa University College

Kenyan soldiers took cover as heavy gunfire continued at Garissa University College in Kenya yesterday

Kenyan security officials at the scene said dozens of hostages were freed and four of the gunmen were killed

A Kenyan soldier takes cover as shots are fired in front of Garissa University College in Garissa town, located near the border with Somalia

Kenyan authorities were warned about the possibility of al-Shabaab launching attacks earlier this week

£145,000 REWARD OFFERED FOR AL-SHABAAB'S TERROR MASTERMIND Mohamed Kuno Dulyadeen Mohamud, alias 'Gamadheere' or 'long arm', is suspected of planning yesterday's massacre. He was a religious teacher in Garissa during the 1990s in a hard-line madrassa, delivering pro-jihadi sermons. His organisation has lost several men following some successes by Kenyan security forces, including the loss of his associate Sheikh Mohamed Ali Kheir. A £145,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the capture of Mohamed Mohamud, who is believed to have masterminded the attack A security source claimed: 'He has become extremely offended by the latest counter-terrorism activities in Garissa and seeks to avenge these deaths.' He is a fluent Arabic speaker and fled to Somalia in 2006. He regularly appeared on television attacking the Kenyan government and western authorities over their treatment of Muslims. In December 2012, the Kenyan National Security Intelligence service produced a report claiming that Mohamud was planning a series of terrorist attacks against the country. Now the Kenyan Government has offered a £145,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Advertisement

He said that when he heard the gunshots he locked himself and three roommates in their room.

'All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots, nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are.

'The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabaab (Swaihi for we are al-Shabaab).'

Mr Wetangula said he could hear the gunmen interrogating fellow students hiding inside their rooms about their religion.

He said: 'If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die.'

The gunmen started to shoot rapidly and it was as if there was an exchange of fire, he said.

'The next thing, we saw people in military uniform through the window of the back of our rooms who identified themselves as the Kenyan military.'

Kenyan authorities have airlifted some of the wounded to Nairobi for treatment following the attack yesterday morning

Kenyan police officers, pictured, take cover across from the university during the terrorist gun attack

Heavily armed soldiers pictured outside the Garissa University College campus where 147 people were murdered

Students fled the area, some of them without shoes, after the al-Shabaab terrorists launched their attack

RESIDENTS AND THE RED CROSS RESPOND TO BLOOD STOCKS SHORTFALL Residents eager to help in the wake of the terrorist attack at Garissa University College donated blood yesterday. The Kenya Red Cross response team discovered there was a shortfall in 'safe blood' available for transfusion and set up a donation clinic at Garissa Blood Transfusion Satellite Center. Only 120 units were available, while it was estimated 250 units would be needed. The Red Cross also airlifted surgeons, anesthetists and surgical supplies to help the resident surgeon at Garissa County Hospital. Advertisement

The soldiers took him and approximately 20 others to safety. As they were running, al-Shabaab snipers on top of a three-storey building attempted to gun them down.

He added: 'We started running and bullets were whizzing past our heads and the soldiers told us to dive.'

Fellow student, Augustine Alanga, 21, described a panicked scene as gunshots rang out outside their dormitory.

He said he saw at least five heavily-armed terrorists wearing masks.

He said: 'I am just now recovering from the pain as I injured myself while trying to escape. I was running barefoot.'

He told journalists he crossed barbed-wire fencing to escape the massacre.

Mr Alanga said any students attending morning prayers at the university's mosque at 5.30am were not attacked.

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi expressed its condolences over yesterday morning's massacre at Garissa University College

Kenyan security officials at the scene said dozens of hostages were freed and four of the gunmen were killed

A Kenya Defence Forces soldier carries a machine gun outside Garissa University College on April 2 2015

Captured: The Kenyan military launched a major security operation and detained one terrorist trying to escape

A Kenya Defence Forces tank driven outside Garissa University College. Al-Shabaab terrorists raided the campus shortly after 5am local time yesterday, overwhelming guards and killing anyone they suspected of being a Christian

Masked gunmen stormed the Garissa University College campus, in Kenya's north-east, yesterday

Earlier in the day, one policeman said: 'I have counted 14 bodies of dead people being carried out of the campus by a Red Cross ambulance, and they include two of our officers who were also killed.

'We are finding it difficult to access the compound because some of the attackers are on top of a building and are firing at us whenever we try to gain entry.'

A spokesman for al-Shabaab said it was claiming responsibility for the latest atrocity.

Yesterday, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabaab's 'military operations spokesman', said: 'We sorted people out and released the Muslims.

'There are many dead bodies of Christians inside the building. We are also holding many Christians alive. Fighting still goes on inside the college.'

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said he was going to fast-track the recruitment of 10,000 new police officers to tackle the al-Shabaab menace.

He said Kenya had 'suffered unnecessarily due to shortage of security personnel'.

Just last week, the Chief Security Officer at the University of Nairobi feared an attack was imminent and issued a security warning - but it is unclear whether the same information was relayed to Garissa officials

Students ran for their lives as the terrorists launched their attack on the college campus in Kenya yesterday

Escape: Students pictured fleeing from the university. The death toll rose to 147 as the siege ended last night

Just last week, the Chief Security Officer at the University of Nairobi feared an attack was imminent and issued a security warning - but it is unclear whether the same information was relayed to Garissa officials.

Grace Kai, a student at the Garissa Teachers Training College near the university, said there had been warnings that an attack in the town could be imminent.

'Some strangers had been spotted in Garissa town and were suspected to be terrorists,' she said.

'Then on Monday our college principal told us... that strangers had been spotted in our college.

'On Tuesday we were released to go home, and our college closed, but the campus remained in session, and now they have been attacked.'

Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, said the U.S. is providing assistance to the Kenyan government and will continue to partner with them as well as other countries in East Africa to defeat the terrorist group.

He said the U.S. stands with the people of Kenya 'who will not be intimidated by such cowardly attacks'.

Some of the students did not have time to dress as they fled for their lives when faced by the gunmen

Just last week, the Chief Security Officer at the University of Nairobi feared an attack was imminent and issued a security warning