Freed Hostages at the Kenyan Shopping Mall Under Attack
Kenyan military forces, according to what CEOAFRICA.com gathered, have taken control of the besieged Nairobi mall from Islamic terrorists, and that all hostages have been freed.
Al-Shabab extremists from Somalia claimed responsibility for taking over the mall during a busy shopping day Saturday. Gunmen walked from store-to-store, shooting down shoppers. They also opened fire on a group of children in a cooking class and murdered people in the parking lot. At least 69 people, along with two gunmen, were killed. The group said they did that to retaliate for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia. They demanded that Kenyan forces should leave Somalia.
Among those that were killed were nationals from Britain, Canada, China, France, India and South Korea.
Meanwhile, President Kenyatta has vowed to stand firm against any form of terrorism and punish those behind the attack swiftly and painfully. He said his nephew and the young man’s fiancée were among those killed.
Kenyan forces entered neighboring Somalia two years ago to help rout al-Shabab, which has been fighting to turn Somalia into a conservative Islamic state. Al-Shabab militants often crossed the border to stage attacks in Kenya.
The FBI is investigating reports that some Americans who joined al-Shabab were involved in the mall attack.