Live Thread: Nairobi Terrorist Attack

[Scottftlc]

My wife's reaction was priceless when I told her this Breaking headline:  "Good, somebody who knows what they're doing."

[Oceander]

In another era, that might have been US special forces; nowadays, all the US has left are "special farces" courtesy of the Clown-in-Chief.

[famousdayandyear]

There are US Special Forces involved; maybe not the official lead, but they are there.

[flowers]

Amazing these days with the net. 

[Atomic Cow]

I've merged all the threads about this into one so let's keep it here if possible.

[famousdayandyear]

BBC reporting link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24193284

[famousdayandyear]

BBC Africa Verified account ‏@BBCAfrica

@KenyaRedCross reports: DEATH Toll rises to 68 after nine more bodies were recovered in the joint rescue mission #WestgateAttack

[Atomic Cow]

At least three of the attackers that have ignited a reign of terror on an upscale Kenyan mall killing dozens are from the United States, CNN reports.

CNN’s Sara Pratley, senior director of coverage at the news network, broke the news on Twitter Sunday afternoon.

#cnn has learned from sources that two of the Kenya mall attackers are from Minnesota and one from Missouri.

42 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@cnnsara
Sara Pratley

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/09/22/cnn-some-of-the-kenya-mall-attackers-are-from-u-s/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=ShareButtons

[flowers]

Al-Shabaab: Three Americans Among Gunmen in Kenya Mall
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/09/22/al-shabaab-three-americans-among-gunmen-in-kenya-mall/?print=1

Al-Shabaab is claiming that there are American gunmen among those still holed up in the Westgate mall in a standoff with Kenyan and Israeli special forces.

The Somali al-Qaeda affiliate tweeted a series of names on its latest account before Twitter against suspended the group. Al-Shabaab has been creating new accounts each time they get shut down but a movement of pro-Kenyan tweeters has been tracking down the new accounts and complaining to Twitter.

“We received permission to disclose the names of our mujahideen inside #Westgate,” their latest account tweeted.

They proceeded to tweet the names one by one, including Ahmed Mohamed Isse, 22, “native” of St. Paul, Minn., Abdifatah Osman Keenadiid, 24, of Minneapolis, and Gen Mustafe Noorudiin, 27, of Kansas City, Mo.

Al-Shabaab recently released a PR video targeted at Somali-Americans in Minnesota, trying to lure them to jihad as more than two dozen have already done so through the state’s “terror pipeline.” Three Americans — Abdisalan Hussein Ali, Farah Mohamed Beledi and Shirwa Ahmed — from Minnesota have been suicide bombers for Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu over the past few years.

Other gunmen were named as being from locations such as Finland, Canada, the UK., Somalia and Kenya. None of the names were female, even though witnesses reported a white woman among the shooters.

That’s raised speculation about whether “White Widow” Samantha Lewthwaite, a British widow of one of the 7/7 attackers who became an al-Qaeda paymaster, is involved in the attacks. Last year she was on the run in Kenya as international authorities tried to hunt her down.

Nine names were released; authorities have said 10 to 15 gunmen are still believed to be in the mall holding around 30 hostages, including possibly children. CNN International witnessed one grief-stricken man trying to break police lines to get into the mall, claiming that his kids are still inside.

The death toll in the terrorist attack rose to 68 today. More than 175 have been wounded.

The White House released a readout of President Obama’s call with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta this morning that took the definitive step of naming Al-Shabaab as the culprits.

“President Obama called President Kenyatta of Kenya this morning to express condolences to the government and people of Kenya for the terrorist attack carried out by al-Shabaab yesterday on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said. “President Obama reiterated U.S. support for Kenya’s efforts to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. The President also reaffirmed the strong and historic partnership between the United States and Kenya as well as our shared commitment to combating terrorism and promoting peace and prosperity in East Africa and around the world.”

Kenyatta, who’s been in office since March, confirmed today that his nephew and his nephew’s fiancee had been confirmed dead.

“We will punish the masterminds swiftly and painfully,” the Kenyan leader vowed.

Some reaction to the list of gunmen on a Somali online forum: “How is it possible that Al-shabab can recruit more boys from America than Kenya or Somalia? It’s as if their headquarters is in Washington D.C.”

“The FBI/CIA should go after their parents to send a message to any future recruits. The entire family should be stripped of USA/UK/Canadian citizenship and be deported to Somalia,” another Somali user wrote.

[flowers]

Ten things you should know about the terrorists behind the Kenya mall attack

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/22/10_things_to_know_about_somali_militants_al_shabab/

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Here are 10 things to know about al-Shabab, the Somali Islamic extremist group that has claimed responsibility for the attack on Kenya’s premier shopping mall that killed dozens of civilians.

WHAT IS AL-SHABAB?

Al-Shabab is an extremist Islamic terrorist force that grew out of the anarchy that crippled Somalia after warlords ousted a longtime dictator in 1991. Its name means “The Youth” in Arabic, and it was a splinter youth wing of a weak Islamic Courts Union government created in 2006 to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state in the East African nation. Al-Shabab is estimated to have several thousand fighters, including a few hundred foreign fighters. Some of the insurgents’ foreign fighters are from the Middle East with experience in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Others are young, raw recruits from Somali communities in the United States and Europe. U.S. officials have expressed fears that militants fleeing Afghanistan and Pakistan could seek refuge in Somalia.

WHERE IS AL-SHABAB?

Al-Shabab won control of almost all of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, in 2006, and held large swathes of central and southern Somalia until a United Nations-backed force from the African Union, including soldiers from neighboring Kenya and Uganda, pushed the militants out of the city in 2011 and out of the vital port of Kismayo in 2012. The rebels still control many rural areas in Somalia where it imposes strict Shariah law, including stoning to death women accused of adultery and amputating the hands of accused thieves. In addition it has staged deadly suicide bomb attacks on Mogadishu and Kismayo.

HOW MANY FIGHTERS DOES IT HAVE?

No one knows for sure, but al-Shabab is believed to command thousands of fighters including hundreds of foreigners.

WHY ARE THEY ATTACKING KENYA?

Al-Shabab has warned for two years that it will attack Kenya in retaliation for the country’s leading role in sending troops to Somalia in 2011 and effectively reducing the extremist group’s power in Somalia. Al-Shabab also claimed responsibility for the July 2010 suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, that killed more than 70 people watching a World Cup final soccer match at a restaurant popular among foreigners. Ugandan troops also are fighting in the African force in Somalia.

The group has staged ongoing major attacks within Somalia for years.

AL-QAIDA LINKS?
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Al-Shabab and al-Qaida in February 2012 announced their alliance, with al-Shabab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubair pledging allegiance to the global terror movement. Al-Qaida’s 2002 attacks on an Israeli-owned Kenyan resort in Mombasa and an attempted attack on a plane carrying Israeli tourists are believed to have been planned by an al-Qaida cell in Somalia. U.S. officials believe some of the al-Qaida terrorists who bombed the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 were given refuge in Somalia.

WHERE DOES AL-SHABAB’S MONEY COME FROM?

Before African troops moved in, al-Shabab was making a steady income from duties and fees levied at ports and airports as well as extorting taxes on domestic produce and demanding “jihadi” contributions. A United Nations report estimated al-Shabab’s income in 2011 at between $70 million and $100 million. It has lost most of that revenue since it was forced out of Mogadishu and Kismayo. Al-Shabab’s only ally in Africa is Eritrea — which backs it to counter its enemy Ethiopia, which also has troops in Somalia. Eritrea denies charges that it helps arm al-Shabab.

FRACTURED GROUP?

Al-Shabab is believed to have fractured over its alliance with al-Qaida, which caused a rift that has grown between core Shabab fighters who believe their struggle should focus on Somalia, and growing tensions with foreign fighters who want to plot a regional terrorist strategy. Analysts think attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall could indicate the extremists are winning that internal struggle. Further divisions are believed to have been caused by the group’s decision to ban foreign aid organizations from operating in the country and providing food to save millions of victims of conflict-induced famine. That decision was announced in 2011, when the U.N. said Somalia had the world’s highest child mortality rate.

U.S. ROLE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AL-SHABAB?

The United States backed the first African intervention against al-Shabab, supporting Ethopian troops that invaded in 2006. Washington has given millions of dollars to support the U.N.-backed African force fighting al-Shabab, which it designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2008. The intervention from Ethiopia, a longtime enemy of Somalia, is considered to have radicalized al-Shabab and perhaps pushed it into the arms of al-Qaida, according to the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

WHAT INSPIRES THEM?

Al-Shabab is inspired by the Saudi Arabian Wahabi version of Islam though most Somalis belong to the more moderate Sufi strain. While they initially won popularity with Somalis by promising security and stability after years of lawlessness and violence, al-Shabab’s destruction of Sufi shrines has cost them much support among locals.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR SOMALIA?

Somalia’s first elected government in more than two decades won power a year ago and, together with the African Union force, has the opportunity to create “a window of opportunity to fundamentally change Somalia’s trajectory,” according to the U.S. State Department. Business is growing and even foreign oil companies are negotiating concessions at the most hopeful moment in decades for that failed state.

[flowers]

The gang is allegedly being led by a woman

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktn/video/watch/2000070164/-the-gang-is-allegedly-being-led-by-a-woman

[flowers]

https://twitter.com/HSM_PRESOFFICE2

live tweet feed to the scumballs doing this

[musiclady]

At least three of the attackers that have ignited a reign of terror on an upscale Kenyan mall killing dozens are from the United States, CNN reports.

CNN’s Sara Pratley, senior director of coverage at the news network, broke the news on Twitter Sunday afternoon.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/09/22/cnn-some-of-the-kenya-mall-attackers-are-from-u-s/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=ShareButtons

Minnesota has a very large Somali population.

I'm thankful, but wonder why they didn't terrorize a mall there.

[Cincinnatus]

The gang is allegedly being led by a woman

A report on Samantha Lewthwaite, a white British woman who converted to Islam and has now

risen to a senior level in the Al Shabaab terror group who claimed responsibility for the Nairobi attack.

Samantha Lewthwaite, 29, who is nicknamed 'The White Widow' is the world's most wanted woman after plotting to bomb the Kenyan city of Mombasa.

Since going on the run two years ago Lewthwaite has risen to a senior level in the Al Shabaab terror group who claimed responsibility for the Nairobi attack.

The attack, in which gunmen killed at least 59 people and wounded 175 others at a shopping mall, comes days after one of Lewthwaite's allies was killed.

Lewthwaite is the widow of King’s Cross bomber Jermaine Lindsay. 52 people were killed and over 700 injured in the terror attack eight years ago in the capital.

British bomb-maker Habib Ghani, a 28-year-old who called himself Osama al-Britani, was killed in a gun battle in Somalia on Friday 12 September...

Mother-of-three Lewthwaite is suspected of funding terrorist groups in Kenya and has an arrest warrant for bomb making charges in the country.

The soldier's daughter and Muslim convert is also suspected of being one of the masterminds behind the terrorist attack in London eight years ago.

Chemicals chemicals found in a raid on her home in Kenya in December 2010 included acetone and hydrogen peroxide, two of the key components of the terror attacks in London eight years ago.

A security source said: "That raises the prospect that Lewthwaite may have been more closely involved in the 7/7 attacks than previously thought.

"It might also explain her seniority as a top-rank Al Qaeda leader and the suspected chief financier of Al Shabaab."

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/431394/7-7-widow-on-the-run-is-at-the-heart-of-terror-group-behind-Kenya-shopping-centre-attack

Link contains several photos of Ms Lewthwaite.

[mountaineer]

Minnesota has a very large Somali population.
I'm thankful, but wonder why they didn't terrorize a mall there.

Especially the huge Mall of America. I'm still surprised terrorists haven't targeted a sporting event here. Organizing and carrying out a terror attack is not as complicated as the media seem to believe.

[mountaineer]

It may not be the "White Widow" after all (or, at least, she wasn't on the scene):

Kenyan commandos are close to ending the bloody siege of an upscale Nairobi shopping mall, the country’s Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said Monday.

Islamist attackers are still fighting – and four large explosions could be heard from the complex – but the thugs have no way to get out, he said.

“We think the operation will come to an end soon,” Lenku said

“We are in control of all the floors, the terrorists are running and hiding in some stores… there is no room for escape.”

At least two of the gunmen were killed in the assault Monday morning and “several injured,” Lenku added.

Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents have claimed they are behind the carnage, in which at least 69 people were killed and 175 were injured. Another 65 remain missing.

But Kenyan army chief Julius Karangi said the gunmen had different nationalities – without giving further details.

“They are from different countries. We have sufficient intelligence this is global terrorism,” Karangi said.

Several foreign fighters, including Somalis with dual nationalities, are members of the Shebab force, and news reports have said as many as five could be from the US.

Lenku also denied rumors that some of the insurgents were women.

“There are no women, all the terrorists are men. Some of them had dressed like women,” he said.

There was previous speculation that Britain’s “White Widow” Samantha Lewthwaite was involved in the attack.  Lewthwaite is the widow of a suicide bomber who took part in the London 7/7 attacks of 2005.

Reporters on the scene Monday heard multiple blasts and a barrage of gunfire, with black and gray smoke visible as the battle raged for a third day.

Soldiers on Sunday stormed the upscale Nairobi shopping mall, rescuing most of the remaining hostages.

The FBI was investigating whether Somali-Americans were among the terrorists, Fox News reported, while FBI agents and Israeli commandos were believed to have aided in the rescue mission.

“Most of the hostages have been released, and the Kenya Defense Forces has taken control of most parts of the building,” Kenyan military spokesman Col. Cyrus Oguna earlier told local television station KTN.

At least 10 hostages remained captive as dawn broke Monday in the Kenyan capital, the BBC reported. It wasn’t clear how many gunman were still inside.

Oguna added that “most probably,’’ some of the 10 to 15 terrorists — who specifically targeted non-Muslims — were killed after the soldiers stormed the Westgate Shopping Mall in a bid to end the bloody standoff.

Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported that two Kenyan soldiers were killed when they came under heavy fire. Four other soldiers were wounded, according to a tweet from the KDF.

The State Department said no US citizens were killed, but the wife of an American working for the US Agency for International Development was slain. Five Americans were wounded.

The nephew of the country’s president, as well as the nephew’s wife, were among the dead.

The Associated Press released amateur video of the attack Monday, showing scared shoppers running and hiding in store aisles as the gunmen started blasting.

There were reports that Israeli commandos and the FBI assisted the Kenyan army in its assault on the mall, which is at least partially owned by Israelis.  “The Israelis have just entered, and they are rescuing the hostages and the injured,” a Kenyan security source told Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry refused to confirm or deny its forces were involved, the newspaper said.

US Rep. Peter King (R-LI) said Sunday that al-Shabab has recruited up to 50 people from Somali-American communities in the US for its operations.

The army’s rescue operation began shortly before sundown Sunday, with two helicopters circling to the mall and one skimming the roof.

A Kenyan soldier said that the terrorists were using a PKM belt-fed machine gun to defend their stronghold and that government forces were returning fire and conducting floor-to-floor sweeps as they closed in on the killers.

President Uhuru Kenyatta reiterated his government’s determination to continue fighting al-Shabab, vowing, “We shall not relent on the war on terror.”

NY Post

[Lando Lincoln]

Massacre mall ablaze after Islamic terrorists 'blew themselves up': Fierce gunfire heard inside Kenyan shopping centre where militants were holding dozens of hostages

Daily Mail Online
September 23, 2013

Kenyan special forces were today locked in a fight to the death with Islamic terrorists who have been barricaded inside a Nairobi mall with up to 40 hostages since Saturday.
 
Witnesses described hearing four large explosions at the Westgate Shopping Centre followed by the sight of thick plumes of smoke and the sounds of fierce gunfire after the military tried to break the three day siege by gaining access from the roof.
 
It is feared that some of the gunmen, who are from Al Qaeda affiliated group Al Shabaab, may have blown themselves up, though a Kenyan government minister said that militants had set fire to some mattresses in a supermarket as a decoy.

 Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said that two of the terrorists had been killed and that most hostages were now free. All of the militants were men, he added, although some were dressed as women. 'We think the operation will come to an end soon', he said. 'We are in control of all the floors, the terrorists are running and hiding in some stores... there is no room for escape'.

 The Red Cross has put the death toll at 62 and four Britons have been confirmed dead. At least 175 were injured, including children.


Much more including many photos ----> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429784/Terror-Kenya-Massacre-mall-ablaze-Islamic-terrorists-blew-Fierce-gunfire-heard-inside-Kenyan-shopping-centre-militants-holding-dozens-hostages.html

[happyg]

Irish-Born Samantha Lewthwaite May Be Leader Of Nairobi Mall Massacre, Called "Target Number One" By Kenyan Police Source



Story at link:

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/crime/irish-born-samantha-lewthwaite-may-be-leader-nairobi-mall-massacre-called-target#

[DCPatriot]

Wow....taken from the plot lines of the current Cinemax series "Strikeback" it seems.   Female Irish terrorists.

[flowers]

Anyone here notice how nothing about this attack has been on Drudge?

   

[DCPatriot]

Anyone here notice how nothing about this attack has been on Drudge?

   

I'm glad he's seemingly slow in the trigger here.  Events are still unfolding and he risks being singled out if whatever he reports doesn't pan out.

Rather he wait until it's over before he fills us in.

[flowers]

I'm glad he's seemingly slow in the trigger here.  Events are still unfolding and he risks being singled out if whatever he reports doesn't pan out.

Rather he wait until it's over before he fills us in.

OK  but he didn't have a thing on it at all. Just strange I think. I notice today he does.

[flowers]

Has British 'White Widow' been killed in final assault on Kenyan shopping mall? Officials say body of white woman terrorist found at scene

Westgate Shopping Centre on fire amid fears that terrorists have carried out suicide bomb attack
Architect Ross Langdon, who had dual Australian and British nationality, is confirmed among the dead
His Harvard-educated girlfriend Elif Yavuz was also killed. She was two weeks away from giving birth
Foreign Office confirmed on Monday that four Britons have been killed in the atrocity
Kenyan government says two militants have died in battle to retake the building
Claims that five of the attackers are American and two are British
Kenyan military official says terrorists are a 'multinational collection from all over the world'
Al Shabaab militants today said they would kill the remaining hostages inside the Westgate Shopping Centre
Kenyan official reveals he suspects the involvement of fugitive 7/7 'white widow' Samantha Lewthwaite
Men, women and children slaughtered if they could not recite Koran or name Prophet Mohammed's mother
Terrorists told French citizen 'they want to kill Kenyans and Americans'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429784/Has-British-White-Widow-killed-final-assault-Kenyan-shopping-mall-Officials-say-body-white-woman-terrorist-scene.html

:peeonobama:

[flowers]

Kenya shopping mall attack: Tweets from survivors reveal the terror

These are the posts which record their harrowing experiences:

 

Kamal Kaur (@kamz26)

“My kids were hurt. We're ok. Unable to call or msg. Thank you for love & prayers. Donate blood. Please. I saw children in need. Please.”

“Image of the boy I was trying to save but got shot instead of my son keeps swimming in front of my eyes. How do I sleep after seeing that?”

“Crying. And praying. I lay in a pool of someone's blood, a dead little boy lying on my side. Trying to call for help, keeping others calm.”

“I saw my little boy, my son help a small girl out from Java's service entrance. I could only send him love from where I was watching.”

“Please tell me if everyone is out of the mall. Please. I can't stop crying.”

“My Ruhila is gone...”

“Bodies of children were everywhere. Children. Innocent little children. Holding on to me asking me where their mummies were.”

“The one guy I saw had magazines of bullets attached everywhere on him. Big gun that showered bullets. Randomly shooting at people. And kids.”

“Just saw a pic of my daughter helped out of Westgate in New York Times. God bless you. I'm forever indebted. I didn't know where she was.”

“Please go give blood. I'm begging you. If you'd seen what I saw you'd not think twice about it.”

“I still have dry blood in my hair. Not mine. It's of that little boy who was shot instead of my son...”

“Images of the day keep flashing in front of my eyes. Dead bodies, injured people, wailing, crying, scared.”

“Wide awake. My daughter has started running a fever. She still has shrapnel in her leg. Please go give blood to those who need it. Please”

“I still haven't told my children that their Ruhila Auntie is no more. I don't know how to. I can't. They're still in shock & wounded.”

“My son almost had his head blown off. Missed by an inch. Hit wall. Bounced & killed the little boy next to him.”

“I had a young lady who had fallen on me & she was calling her Dad to say goodbye & I love you. It broke my heart she had given up...”

“I've finally broken the news to the kids about their beloved Ruhila Auntie. My daughter's sobs will forever weigh on my soul.”

 

Shirley (@ShirleyGhetto)

“Im under the matresses!!!!! This might be my last tweet #Westgate mall. :'( :'(”

“I love you guys.”

“OMG I was with kevin and he's at the parking. I'm safe in here but guys, pray for him guys, I think they took him!!”

“3 thugs are arguing about something. One of them is tryna convince two to surrender.”

“Its getting calm. Pray for us guys. #Westgate .Pray for Kevin.”

“When the first gunshot was fired, we ran into the mall instead of away. #Westgate”

“I don't care anymore. If they shoot let them come shoot.It doesn't even seem like we'll make it out anyway #Westgate”

“The cop who tried to save us, Thank you. I hope they didnt kill him.”

“Had mistaken this guys next to me as thugs. Thank God. #Westgate”

“Kenya police,Check the people leaving! I think some gunmen are escaping among them. Black shirts #Westgate”

“Some guy at the parking has been shot for his phone ringing. Please Do NOT call anyone. #Westgate”

“Is it safe to come out from hiding? Its quiet. Have the cops tackled the culprits? Please keep me updated. #Westgate”

“The lady hostage who was shot. I'm told she's a journalist. That scream was deafening. R.I.P #Westgate”

“Cop who scared away the gunmen to the parking lot. May God be with his soul. #westgate”

“How is it out there? Is the backup here yet? #Westgate”

“I feel like I'm ready for anything now. All the fear is gone #Westgate”

“No, I dont wanna die this young! :'(. #Westgate”

“So this is how it feels like when you feel you might die the next minute. I think I'm ready to walk out now.”

“I can see the guys in green now. Should I or should I not show myself. The guys I was with just left.”

“I trust the guys in green. I think I'm gonna come out of hiding now. This feels like a movie.”

“I hope this won't be my last tweet.”

“I'm OK.”

“I made it out of the mall yesterday. The 2 guys I was in hiding with made it out too. Thank you all for the concern. God bless Kenya.”

“The cop who tried to lead us upstairs was sniped in the hip. No one knew where the bullet came from. Some fell downstairs and played dead”

“I have talked to mum like nothing happened. Told her I'm in bed. I didn't wanna scare her.The shock on her, I didn't want that.”

“I think I'm the only one who didn't contact my parent. I didn't know how she would deal with the shock. She doesn't even know I was in there.”

[happyg]

That's so heart wrenching. I fear something like that will come to us.