Kenya is continuing with three days of official mourning for both civilian and military victims of the siege. President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared three days of national mourning following terror attack at Wesgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi. Four day siege ended on Tuesday 24, when militants stormed the Westgate shopping centre, opening gunfire and launching the grenade attacks on patrons.
Somalia's Al-Shabab militants take responsibility for the attacks in Kenya. Somalia Islamist group Al- Shabab has said it had carried the attack in retaliation for Kenyan army operations in Somalia. Al-Shabab, which is linked to Al-Qaeda , has repeatedly threatened attacks on Kenyan soil if Nairobi did not pull its troop out of Somalia. Why? because members of al-Shabab group are fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia.
About 4 000 Kenyan troops have been serving in south of Somalia since October 2011, as part of an African Union force supporting Somalia government forces. The terrorist were responsible abroad, for the July 2010 suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda. Killed more than 70 people, including a US citizen, as they gathered to watch a Football World Cup final match. The group is believed to be responsible for attacks in Somalia that have killed international and aid workers, journalist, civilian leaders and African Union peacekeepers.-by CNN African news-
On Wednesday 25, Red Cross found six missing people and were re-united with families, among those found was a South African women. Furthermore, nine bodies were positively identified by their close families. The death toll rise to 67 people killed and 61 still missing. Yesterday, the funerals of some of the 67 victims and that of pregnant television and radio star Ruhila Adatia was one of many being held on Thursday. Red Cross has said 61 people remain unaccounted for when three floors inside of the complex collapsed and death toll could rise up to 200. Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku believe more bodies of victims are buried under the rubbel, said on Wednesday 25, 2013.
Forensic Experts are digging through the rubble collecting DNA, fingerprints and ballistic samples for analysis. Mr Lenku said experts from USA, UK, Israel, Germany, Canada and Interpol are joining Kenya's counterparts in the operation. This will take up to seven days. ''We cannot confirm the details at the present. Forensic experts are working to ascertain the nationalities of the terrorists", said President Uhuru Kenyatta told the nation on Tuesday 23. Six Kenyan soldiers were killed by the rebels when walked their way through the mall and some wounded. As security forces were clearing of the Westgate mall, more bodies were discovered. Five militant killed and 11 suspects arrested, whereas a British woman and three US citizens among the terrorists. Speculations of the so called the "white widow" being involved in the attacks, are still under scrutiny. Al Shabab claim they have killed 137 people.
A senior Kenyan government official said a women was among the attackers. British-born Samantha Lewthwaite was seen as kind of victim of the July 2005 London terror attack. Then pregnant, wife of one of the suicide bombers who killed 52 people, now left alone to care for her children. Lewthwaite, 29, married a British Muslim, when she was 17-years-old according to the Daily Mail. A convert to Islam, she married him in 2002. In December 2011, Kenya authorities raided three homes in Mombasa, including one allegedly used by Samantha Lewthwaite.
They arrested some people on suspicion of planning to destroy a bridge, a ferry and hotels frequented by Western tourists. But Lewthwaite was not found. An eNCA Channel Africa investigation team has revealed that Samantha owed South African Banks thousand of rands. She has spent time in South Africa using a false name and passport, Natalie Faye Webb, a name she used during the time spent in South Africa and lived in Johannesburg. Is South Africa a safe heaven for the terrorist?
Picture: Samantha Lewthwaite "whitewidow"
Sources by BBC, CNN and eNCA for more info: go to their websites.
By: Nelly Portia
This is an eye opener since September 11, Boston bombings and many other attacked cities that there are stil peole who dont care about life, terrorism its a growing and living thorn in the world.
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