28 killed in Kenyan bus attack by Islamist group
Print Edition
SOMALIA’S Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for yesterday’s dawn attack on a bus in Kenya which 28 non-Muslims were singled out and killed.
Al-Shabab said through its radio station in Somalia that the attack was retaliation for raids by Kenyan security forces carried out earlier this week on four mosques on the Kenyan coast.
A total of 19 men and nine women were killed in the bus attack, said Kenyan police chief David Kimaiyo.
The bus was traveling to the capital Nairobi with 60 passengers onboard when it was hijacked about 50 kilometers from the town of Mandera, close to Kenya’s border with Somalia, two police officers said.
The vehicle was first waved down but it didn’t stop so the gunmen sprayed it with bullets. When that also didn’t work they shot a rocket propelled grenade at it, the officers said.
The gunmen commandeered the bus off the road and ordered the passengers out of the vehicle and separated those who appeared to be non-Muslims from the rest and shot them at close range, the police officers said.
The officers insisted on anonymity because Kenya’s police chief ordered that officers should not speak to the press.
Some of the dead were public servants who were heading to Nairobi for the Christmas vacation, the officers said.
A shortage of personnel and lack of equipment led to a slow response by police when the information was received, they said.
The attackers also had more sophisticated weaponry than the police who waited for military reinforcements before responding.
Kenya has been hit by a series of gun and bomb attacks blamed on al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaida, since it sent troops into Somalia in October 2011.
Authorities said there have been at least 135 attacks by al-Shabab since then, including one on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall in September 2013 in which 67 people were killed. Al-Shabab said it was responsible for other attacks on Kenya’s coast earlier this year, which killed at least 90 people.
Kenya has been struggling to contain extremism in the country. This week authorities shut down four mosques on the Kenyan coast after police alleged they found explosives and a gun when they raided the places of worship.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
