NEW TWIST: Police claim MRC carried out attack in Lamu

Police have blamed the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) for the 5th July attacks in Lamu and Tana Delta that left over 20 people dead.

Deputy Inspector General Grace Kaindi said an armed group of between 30 to 50 people attacked police officers who were manning Gamba police station.

"During the confrontation, three prisoners escaped while 10 others remained unhurt in the next cell," Ms Kaindi said while addressing a press conference at her Jogoo House office.

The attack is reported to have happened at 11pm.

At exactly the same time, another group attacked Hindi area in Lamu burnt down a church, killed 12 people and injured two.

Earlier, a spokesman for Somalia's Al-Shabaab group issued a statement saying that their fighters had carried out an attack in the area and had safely reported back to their base.

"The attackers came back home safely to their base," Al-Shabaab military spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab said, adding that 10 people had been killed in the attack.

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