LONDON: Four deafening explosions at lunchtime on Monday marked what many were hoping was the beginning of the end of Kenyas worst terror attack since the 1990s.
Late on Monday security forces said that most of the hostages had been released, but it remained unclear whether all of the attackers had been killed or detained. Hurried ranks of commandos could be seen charging into the upmarket shopping mall that has been the scene of a murderous stand-off with Kenyan authorities since it was stormed by extremist Al-Qaeda linked militants on Saturday afternoon.
As troops moved into the four-storey building and helicopters circled overhead, a column of black smoke began to rise from the rooftop.
Inside the mall fighters loyal to the Somali militia al-Shabaab had barricaded themselves in. They were holding an estimated 30 hostages and had lit fires to confuse the troops.
An Indian man was shot when he failed to answer a question on Islam asked by terrorists who were holding hostages after killing 68 people.
Al Qaida-linked Somali militants, reports said, were trying to weed out non-Muslims for execution by interrogating people on their faith or asking them to recite the ‘Shahada’.
On the second floor of Westgate, Nairobi’s swankiest shopping mall, Joshua Hakim saw gunmen, some of whom looked to be teenagers, strapped with ammunition belts, carrying AK-47 assault rifles. “They were firing indiscriminately, they shot a lot of people,” he said.
During a lull in the firing, the attackers called out for Muslims to identify themselves and leave, British newspaper The Guardian quoted Hakim as saying.
Covering the Christian name on his ID with his thumb, Hakim approached one of the attackers and showed them the plastic card.
“They told me to go. Then an Indian man came forward and they said, ‘What is the name of Muhammad’s mother?’ When he couldn’t answer they just shot him.”
It was not clear from the report whether the Indian was injured or fatally shot.
Some Indians were among 68 people killed by the Islamist terrorists in the packed mall. Five Indians, including two women and a girl, were among nearly 200 people injured in the brazen attack on the part Israeli-owned mall. Agencies