Unknown gunmen have shot and killed at least 10 people in an attack on a hotel in eastern Kenya near the Somali border.

According to police officials, on Thursday, the assailants opened fire indiscriminately inside the hotel in the town of Garissa and ran away.

At least five other people were reportedly injured in the attack.

The motive behind the attack remains unknown, according to officials.

In January, unknown assailants killed at least four people and injured six others in an attack on a hotel restaurant in the same region.

In November 2012, five policemen were killed in Garissa in two separate attacks.

Kenya has been hit by a wave of gun attacks since its army entered neighboring Somalia in 2011 to fight al-Shabab fighters, who have never claimed responsibility for the attacks.