NAIROBI, Kenya -- Police were on the hunt for suspects Sunday after a British tourist was murdered and his wife kidnapped in a raid by suspected pirates on an exclusive beach resort in Kenya.

The couple were reported to have arrived at the resort just hours before the raid. Police sources said the husband had been shot in the head.

The couple were attacked during a raid on the Kiwayu Safari Village overnight Saturday. The resort, which has 18 cottages on a private beach, is a favorite with celebrities. It lies close to the border with Somalia which is renowned for the activities of pirates.

Kenyan authorities have launched a search and rescue for the abducted woman and a police source is reported to have said that the Somali Islamist group known as al Shabaab could be involved, The (London) Times reported.

Steve Ikau, the Lamu District Commissioner, confirmed that the raiders arrived from Somalia by boat. He said the pirates may have colluded with some locals to carry out the attack.

Abu Chiaba, a Kenyan Member of Parliament, confirmed that several armed men attacked the resort in the Kiunga Marine National Reserve just before dawn Sunday.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said, "We can confirm that two British citizens were attacked overnight at a beach resort north of Lamu, near the Kenya-Somalia border.

"One was killed and another kidnapped."