‘Abundance of blood’: Al-Shabaab continues Kenya attacks

The Somalia-based group, which has links to al-Qaeda, launched an early morning attack on the town of Mandera, in Kenya’s north-eastern tip that borders Somalia.

Two police officers were killed in an attack on Mandera’s security post, and three others were injured, regional police chief Charlton Mureithi. The militants also destroyed 11 vehicles.

…be prepared for an abundance of blood that will be spilt in your country, economic downfall and displacement. Ahmed Godane Shaykh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, al-Shabaab leader

The attack follows one on Wednesday night, when the terror group attacked another town, Wajir, 50 miles from Somalia’s border.

One person was killed and four wounded after a gunman opened fire and threw grenades.

Weakness?

It has been speculated al-Shabaab’s foray into Kenya is a sign of weakness in the group, which has been battled within Somalia by African Union forces.

On Wednesday, Somalia’s president told Channel 4 News: “This is a sign of declining… this is the action of a dying organisation.”

Al-Shabaab’s spate of attacks inside Kenya have been justified by the terror group as retaliation for the presence of Kenyan soldiers, as a part of the African Union forces.

This is a sign of declining… this is the action of a dying organisation. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud

Ahmed Godane Shaykh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, al-Shabaab’s leader, posted a statement online on Wednesday, warning the Kenya public that they should prepare for a “war of attrition inside your own country”.

“Make your choice today and withdraw all your forces,” said Mukhtar Abu Zubayr. “Otherwise be prepared for an abundance of blood that will be spilt in your country, economic downfall and displacement.”

The statement also said: “We tell the Kenyan public: you have entered into a war that is not yours and is serving against your national interests.

“You have voluntarily given up on your security and economy and lost many of your sons. You are taking an active part in the massacres that are being perpetrated by your military in Kismayo and the neighboring regions.

“That is so because it’s you who have chosen your politicians, the taxes that you pay are being used to arm [Kenyan President] Uhuru Kenyatta’s army that is actively killing Muslims and it’s you who have supported your government’s decision to go to war.”

Searching the rubble

His statement came as Kenyan officials sifted through the rubble of the Kenyan mall attack.

Footage emerged on Wednesday of an area of the shopping centre where three floors collapsed in the final stages of the four-day siege.

A government official told Associated Press that the collapse was caused by government troops firing rocket-propelled grenades inside, knocking out a support column.

The official, who insisted he not be identified because he was sharing security information, said the soldiers fired to distract a terrorist sniper so hostages could be evacuated.

Retribution against the Western states that supported the Kenyan invasion and are spilling the blood of innocent Muslims. Mukhtar Abu Zubayr

At least 67 people died in the attack, and more than 170 others were injured. At least 18 foreigners were amongst the deceased.

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said he did not expect the death toll from the attack to rise significantly, and said he expected only militants to be found in the rubble of the mall.

Nevertheless, Nairobi’s city morgue is understood to be prepared for an influx of bodies, and other officials have suggested there could be as many as 60 civilians found in the debris.

Authorities have said at least five al-Shabaab attackers were killed and another 11 suspects have been taken into custody.

In his statement, Mukhtar Abu Zubayr said the mall attack was not only directed at Kenya, but was also “a retribution against the Western states that supported the Kenyan invasion and are spilling the blood of innocent Muslims in order to pave the way for their mineral companies.”

He said not all of the terrorist attackers had been killed, and suggested that some may have escaped.

Forensic experts from around the world, including the US, UK and Germany, continued their forensic reconstruction of the attack on Thursday – including fingerprint, DNA and ballistic analysis, police spokeswoman Gatiria Mboroki.

The work, which is expected to reveal the nationalities of the attackers, is expected to take a week.

As I witness one #Westgate funeral, I keep thinking of the other 66 – and unknown number still lying in rubble. #Kenya in grief.

— Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) September 26, 2013

Kenya is now in the midst of three days of national mourning, and video filmed on Thursday showed the families of those killed in the attack arriving at the city morgue to collect the dead for funerals.