At least 48 people were killed by Islamist militants in an attack on a small Kenyan town that lasted four hours.

According to reports, several dozen Somali extremists wielding automatic firearms attacked the town of Mpeketoni, targeting the police station, setting two hotels on fire, and letting off rounds of bullets into the street.

The assault began around 8 p.m. local time Sunday night as town residents were watching World Cup matches on TV in cafes and bars. The attack, which was met with little resistance from the country's security, lasted until early Monday morning.

An army spokesman told Sky News that the Al Qaeda-linked, Somalia-based terror group al-Shabaab is being blamed for the attack, although no group has claimed responsibility, reports Fox News.

Kenya's top police commander David Kimaiyo said Monday that the gunmen launched attacks at two hotels, a bank and a police station.

One police commander said that the gunmen pulled the men aside and ordered the women to watch them be killed at the World Cup at the Breeze View Hotel, reports USA Today. The attackers also told the women that they were attacking because that's what Kenyan troops are doing to Somalian men inside Somalia.

"They came to our house at around 8 p.m. and asked us in Swahili whether we were Muslims. My husband told them we were Christians and they shot him in the head and chest," said Anne Gathigi.

Another witness, John Waweru, said he watched his two brothers being murdered because they did not speak Somali.

"My brothers who stay next door to me were killed as I watched. I was peeping from my window and I clearly heard them speak to my brothers in Somali and it seems since my brothers did not meet their expectations, they sprayed them with bullets and moved on," said Waweru.