Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents have denied that gunmen who massacred 67 people in Kenya's Westgate mall tried to flee the shopping centre, insisting they were special suicide commandos.
The al Qaeda-linked movement said in the latest issue of its online magazine that the killers were members of a "martyrdom brigade" - and warned that more attacks were coming.
"(The gunmen) were brothers who have volunteered to enter into enemy ranks and cause havoc before being killed by the enemy," the group said.
The magazine does not specifically say the gunmen had died, but it dismissed initial reports by Kenya's army chief Julius Karangi that the men had tried to run away.
The mall was severely damaged during the four-day siegeIt said: "Karangi even had the audacity to claim that the martyrdom-seeking mujahedeen were seeking to abscond and escape from the mall."
A special edition of the magazine was released on Tuesday via extremist websites, and was dedicated to the four-day Westgate siege.
It comes a day after four men appeared in a Nairobi court charged with "supporting a terrorist group" over the September attack.
The magazine contains gruesome photographs of the assault, and messages lauding the success of the massacre.
"Westgate was not a fight, it was a message," the magazine said, quoting al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamed Rage. "The real fight is on the way."
It did not name or say how many gunmen there were, but police believe there to have been only four attackers, and not the dozen that security forces had initially reported.
Interpol is assisting Kenya in trying to identify four bodies suspected to be those of the terrorists.
Some media outlets had previously speculated the gunmen may have escaped in the chaos of the fighting, although security sources said they died in a final standoff with Kenyan commandos, who ended the fight by firing anti-tank rockets that sparked a fierce fire.
A police officer outside the evacuated buildingWitnesses in the mall described how the al Shabaab gunmen stormed the crowded complex, firing from the hip and hurling grenades at shoppers and staff.
The Kenyan Red Cross has said some 20 people are still missing, and there are fears more bodies could be found in the wreckage of the mall.
"Westgate was meant to send a message to Kenyans: get out of Somalia and stop your aggressions against Muslims," the magazine added.
"After Kenya's defiance and its insistence of staying in Somalia, Kenyans should ask themselves when and where will the next attack be? How safe are you in Kenya?
"If you want peace, remove your military from the Muslim lands that they have invaded."
Kenyan troops entered southern Somalia to attack al Shabaab bases two years ago, and later joined the 17,700-strong African Union force deployed in the country.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Al Shabaab Denies Gunmen Fled Kenya Massacre
Dengan url
http://jidatlancip.blogspot.com/2013/11/al-shabaab-denies-gunmen-fled-kenya.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Al Shabaab Denies Gunmen Fled Kenya Massacre
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Al Shabaab Denies Gunmen Fled Kenya Massacre
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar