Nairobi Westgate Mall Terrorist Attack

[Meatpie]

On 21 September 2013 ten to fifteen masked militants from the Somali al-Shabab stormed into a fancy, crowded mall in Nairobi called Westgate and opened fire killing at least 68 civilians.

More than 150 were injured in one of the most chilling terrorist attacks in East Africa since Al Qaeda blew up two American embassies in 1998.

 

[KiltedSoldier]

The Kenyan security response was completely incompetent The Israelis offered to help but it was too late Incredible that 10-12 Muslim terrorists could do this - but maybe not given its Kenya

 

[Art Of War]

Continuing militant violence in Africa, one of the painful side affects of eliminating militants in other parts of the world as the militants have to go somewhere else.

The Kenyan security response was completely incompetent The Israelis offered to help but it was too late Incredible that 10-12 Muslim terrorists could do this - but maybe not given its Kenya

Totally agree and I do not think most African governments will stop the bickering and infighting and power protecting tactics any time soon, therefore I see the violence in Africa increasing over time.

 

[topinrome]

UGH. When I am in town I go to westgate every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times, different people, different coffees, different meetings... Not sure I would enjoy, but I might have ended up on here myself.... CDG's readers, hold your hardons.

 

[Art Of War]

UGH. When I am in town I go to westgate every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times, different people, different coffees, different meetings... Not sure I would enjoy, but I might have ended up on here myself.... CDG's readers, hold your hardons.

I am glad you are ok and it must be terrible waiting anxiously for information regarding if anyone you know is caught up in it, if so, I hope they are doing fine and have come out of it fine.

 

[gibing]

Madness

 

[phyzzique]

These pics are amazing Meatpie!

Sent from my iPhone

 

[Meatpie]

UGH. When I am in town I go to westgate every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times, different people, different coffees, different meetings... Not sure I would enjoy, but I might have ended up on here myself.... CDG's readers, hold your hardons.

Any cdg member can end up in the gore section, chaos and death rule the Earth.

 

[Meatpie]

A few more pics...

 

[DeathHand]

Great thread opener, meat. This attack by the al-Shabaab is certainly gaining alot of attention - especially since they're 3 days into the siege and the al-Shabaab militants still haven't been flushed out going into a fourth day.

Here's a few more photos and some info.

Set 1.

Kenya said its security forces were in control of most of the Nairobi shopping mall where at least 68 people were killed by Somali al Shabaab Islamists, but gunmen still appeared to be holding hostages as the siege entered its third day on Monday.

Referring to an operation under way since early on Sunday, following the storming of the upmarket Westgate mall at lunchtime the previous day, a military spokesman said most of those who had been in the complex were now free.

He made no mention of killing or capturing militants but said commanders hoped to end the operation "very, very soon". Reuters journalists outside the mall heard only very occasional gunfire and an explosion. There was no clear word on the fate of people said to be held by a dozen or so gunmen in a supermarket.

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[DeathHand]

Set 2.

Survivors' tales of Saturday's military-style, lunchtime assault by squads of gunmen hurling grenades and spraying automatic fire, left little doubt the hostage-takers are willing to kill. Previous such raids around the world suggest they may also be ready to die with their captives.

Military spokesman Oguna said the government's position was clear: "We will not negotiate with terrorists."

It was unclear how many may be held by the guerrillas barricaded in the supermarket. A Kenyan TV station said it might be 30. A number of escapes on Sunday, by survivors who had spent up to a full day hiding in terror, suggested some people may be trapped but not captive.

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[Meatpie]

Thanks for this awesome update and pics, witnesses have reported heavy and sustained gunfire, and explosions from inside the mall a few minutes ago.

 

[DeathHand]

Set 3.

It was unclear who the assailants were. Al Shabaab - the name means "The Lads [Youth]" in Arabic - has thousands of Somali fighters but has also attracted foreigners to fight against Western and African Union efforts to establish stable government.

With the stocks of a major supermarket at their disposal - the Nakumatt store is part of one of Kenya's biggest chains - the gunmen could be in a position to hold on for a long time.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, confirming that at least three Britons were already among the dead, said: "We should prepare ourselves for further bad news."

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[Meatpie]

Fucked up shit, is the kid dead ???

 

[DeathHand]

Thanks for this awesome update and pics, witnesses have reported heavy and sustained gunfire, and explosions from inside the mall a few minutes ago.

Yes, I think that will go on throughout the night. The militants are armed with grenades (and possibly suicide vests) so it's hard to say if they or the Kenyan military are setting off explosives. If the militants have any hostages, I really don't see those people making it out of there alive.

 

[DeathHand]

Fucked up shit, is the kid dead ???

Not sure, he looks dead...one media site mentioned "the body of a child" while another said "an injured boy."

 

[DeathHand]

Set 4.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Kenyatta to offer condolences and support. Officials in Israel, whose citizens own several stores in the mall and have been targeted by Islamists in Kenya before, said Israeli experts were also advising Kenyan forces.

Foreigners including a French mother and daughter and two diplomats, from Canada and Ghana, were killed. The Ghanaian, Kofi Awoonor, was also a renowned poet. Other victims came from China and the Netherlands. Five Americans were wounded.

Scores of Kenyans gathered on Sunday at a site overlooking the mall, awaiting what they expected to be a violent denouement. "They entered through blood, that's how they'll leave," said Jonathan Maungo, a private security guard.

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[DeathHand]

Set 5.

The dead in Saturday's assault included children, and the wounded ranged in age from 2 to 78. More than 1,000 people were evacuated by security forces combing the mall, littered with shattered glass and pools of blood.

After emerging on Sunday morning from a hiding place under a vehicle in the basement car park, a woman, giving her name as Cecilia, told Reuters by telephone she had seen three of the attackers.

"They were shooting from the exit ramp, shooting everywhere," she said. "I saw people being shot all around me, some with blood pouring from bad wounds. I was just praying, praying 'God, keep me alive' and that my day hadn't come."

Witnesses said the attackers had AK-47 rifles and wore ammunition belts. One militant was shot and arrested early on in the siege, but died shortly afterwards.

For hours after the attack, the dead were strewn around tables of unfinished meals. At one burger restaurant, a man and woman lay in a final embrace, until their bodies were removed.

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[DeathHand]

Several survivors reported that the militants were asking people to name the muslim Prophet's mother. If they couldn't they were shot dead.

A French woman said she was freed by the Islamic terrorists because they told her they only wanted to kill Kenyans and Americans.

The woman, who only gave her name as Pauline, said she escaped with her two young children, who were given Mars bars by the gunmen.

Pauline said she was asked for forgiveness by the terrorists who told her 'we are not monsters'.

The mother of two (the boy and girl standing out front near the body of a dead man), who was in the supermarket when the attack began, said once she agreed Muslims were not 'bad people' they gave her children, Emily, 6, and Eliot, 4, chocolate.

She told The Independent: 'He said we only only want to kill Kenyans and Americans. He then told me I had to change my religion to Islam and said "do you forgive us? do you forgive us?'

She said she was able to escape with another two children, including a wounded 12-year-old boy whose mother had been murdered.

Psycoholic/DH

 

[Meatpie]

she escaped with her two young children, who were given Mars bars by the gunmen.

Why shoot at children, sick fucks then give them Mars.

The world is fucked.