“APPALLING BRUTALITY” BY AL-QAEDA-CONNECTED TERRORIST GROUP
by Sharon Rondeau
(Sep. 22, 2013) — A shopping mall located in the East African nation came under attack by Islamic militants on Saturday, killing dozens.
The attackers were described by the AP as “Islamic extremists” and belong to a the militant group Al-Shabaab, known for its “brutal tactics.”
Michelle Obama has called Kenya her husband’s “home country.” Kenyan Parliament officials and the U.S. ambassador to Kenya have stated that Obama was born in their country, with one asking in 2010 when “Barrack Obama” would “repatriate” himself. In 2007, Obama campaigned for his purported cousin, Raila Odinga, a Muslim Marxist who ran for president. Following his reported defeat, Islamic extremists burned Christians churches containing parishioners, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,000 people.
In violation of U.S. law, Barack Hussein Obama is supplying ammunition and anti-chemical weapons materiel to Islamic extremists in Syria in an effort to oust current Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Foreign terrorists fighting with the rebels include those of Hamas and Hezbollah, which are on the State Department list of terrorist organizations.
Citizens of various countries have been reported killed in the attack for which the Somalian terrorist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. Al-Shabaab was placed on the State Department’s list of terrorist groups in 2008, and the U.S. has provided military assistance to Somalia to push back against the terror group’s abilities to attack.
Inside the shopping center, hostages are being held, and the Kenyan military has surrounded the area with the purpose of “neutralising the attackers and securing the mall.”
The mall is located in Nairobi, which was also the scene of a deadly attack carried out on August 7, 1998 by Al Qaeda.
Al-Shabaab is linked to Al Qaeda. The group seeks to impose Sharia law on its country of origin, Somalia, and has orchestrated attacks in Uganda.
The organization began in 2004 and is dedicated to committing “violent jihad” to attain its goals. According to one source, “The group has also repeatedly threatened the United States and the West and has demonstrated the capacity to strike beyond Somalia’s borders.”
The Associated Press reported that the militants “specifically targeted non-Muslims” at the Westgate Mall. Al-Shabaab has threatened Somalia’s president and is attempting to overthrow the government to institute an Islamic state.
Several men charged with assisting Al-Shabaab were tried in a U.S. federal court earlier this year. The group has carried out attacks this past spring on against government and United Nations installations and civilians. The New York Times reported that as many as 3,000 members of the African Union peacekeeping force have lost their lives to Al-Shabaab.
A leader of Al-Shabaab claimed that the attack on civilians in the mall was in response to Kenya’s “invasion” of Somalia, with possible assistance from the U.S., in October 2011, with the aim of curbing the abilities of Al-Shabaab.
Attacks, kidnappings and murders against foreigners have been carried out by Somali militants who may belong to Al-Shabaab.
Last year, a spokesman for the terror group formally announced that it had “pledged loyalty to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.”
British and American citizens are reportedly some of the injured from the Westgate attack, with at least one American killed. Some hostages managed to escape, and some with apparent Muslim names werwe allowed to leave by the militants, who number approximately “10-15.” As a place frequented by Westerners and prosperous Kenyans, the group had reportedly threatened to attack the mall previous to Saturday’s barrage of bullets and grenades directed at civilians with “appalling brutality.”
The BBC has reported that “at least 59” people have been killed, including children.
During the 2012 presidential campaign, Obama had said that Al Qaeda was “decimated” despite evidence that “African offshoots were gaining money, lethal knowledge and a mounting determination to strike U.S. and Western interests.”
Update, 6:24 p.m. EDT: The Times of India has reported that Israeli soldiers have joined the Kenyan military to end the siege perpetrated by the terrorists.