World Cup 2014: Al Shabaab Claims Responsibility for Death of 49 Singles Watching Soccer Games in Kenyan Hotel

The Al Shabaab, a Sunni Islamist militia based in Somalia and believed to have links with al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for attacks on Sunday that killed 49 single men and women watching the World Cup matches in a Kenyan hotel.

The incident is a repeat of 2010 when the same group killed 74 soccer fans in Uganda by using suicide bombers who have bombs strapped to their bodies.

The terror group used the Muslim belief that unmarried males and females should never mix or even shake hands as their reason for the massacre. According to the Herald Sun, the terrorists entered the video hall, smashed the TV then ordered the women to go to one side of the bar, away from the men.

The attackers were heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" which means God is Great.

Using their AK-47s, the group fired at the men, shooting indiscriminately. One man, Meshack Kimani, lived to recount the horror he witnessed and shared it with the Daily Mail. He escaped death by hiding behind the door.

Later, the New Breeze hotel, where the incident happened, was burned down, the hotel manager, John Wanyoike, told AFP.

But it appears the massacre was aimed at Christians when they went through the town of Mpeketoni at night and asked residents if they were Muslims, recalled Anne Gathigi. When her husband replied that they are Christians, the gunmen shot him in the head and chest.

Mpeketoni is located 32 kilometres from Lamu and is a historic Arab trading port and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.