Updated — Dec. 2, 8:03 a.m. ET
During a press conference, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced he has accepted Police Chief David Kimaiyo's resignation. While Kimaiyo cited personal matters as the reason for his resignation, he has also been facing wide criticism over the country's security.
Kenyatta also nominated Major General Joseph Nkaissery of ODM as the new interior cabinet secretary.
During his speech, just hours after al-Shabab killed 36 people, Kenyatta vowed to fight the war on terrorism.
"This is a war against Kenya and Kenyans," he said. "It is a war that every one of us must fight."
Kenyatta called on all Kenyans to take a principled stand against terrorism.
"Are you on the side of an open, free, democratic Kenya that respects rules of law and sanctity of life, freedom, and worship, or do you stand with repressive, intolerant, and murderous extremists?" he asked during his speech.
Gunmen from the al-Shabaab group launched an attack on a quarry in northeastern Kenya overnight on Monday, killing 36 miners.
The attack happened early Tuesday at a quarry in Kenya's Mandera county, which borders Somalia, Kenyan media reported on Tuesday.
The attack on the quarry was led by al-Shabaab militants from Somalia, local media reports said. The victims reportedly are miners who worked at the quarry.
Members of the Kenya Red Cross reportedly are on the scene and said the quarry is about 10 miles from the main town in Mandera.
Residents said that the miners were caught sleeping in their tents shortly after midnight. Non-Muslims were separated from Muslims and then shot by the attackers, the BBC reported.
A driver who visited the scene told the BBC most of the victims appear to have been lined up, before being shot in the head at close range. Another four were beheaded inside their tents, while three appear to have escaped to Mandera town.
#ManderaAttack 36 people feared dead in a quarry in Kormey, 15Km from #Mandera Security Personnel & #RedCross team on ground
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.
BREAKING: Here is #AlShabaab's full statement claiming #ManderaQuarryAttack which left 30+ Kenyans dead. #Kenya #KOT
Last month, 28 people were killed in the area when al-Shabaab militants attacked a bus headed toward Kenya's capital city Nairobi.
As the attacks by al-Shabaab militants have become more frequent, the international community has spoken out with more urgency against the group. In September, the U.S. started a series of airstrikes aimed at killing the group's leader.
Last year, militants from the group raided a mall in Nairobi and killed 68 people over the course of several days.