TERROR AT THE MALL

[HairOfTheDog]

The FBI's official position is that they're still investigating whether some of the al-Shabab terrorists are Americans, but Kenyan officials have publicly confirmed it.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed told "PBS NewsHour" that some of the attackers had come from the United States. She said they were originally from Minnesota and Missouri, PBS reported Monday.

"As you know, both the victims and the perpetrators came from Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States," Mohamed said. "From the information that we have, two or three Americans, and I think so far I've heard of one Brit" are among the attackers.

"The Americans, from the information we have, are young men, about between maybe 18 and 19, of Somalia origin or Arab origin," she told PBS. She offered no other specifics.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/24/world/afri...?hpt=hp_t2

Though Kenyan authorities continue to tweet that they've gotten the mall under control and believe they've rescued "all, or almost all of the hostages", they are still reportedly trying to contain the terrorists inside the mall, gunshots have been exchanged today, and it's unclear how many hostages are still being held and how many dead bodies remain inside. The number of missing is estimated to be around 60 to 65, according to the Red Cross.

[HairOfTheDog]

Siege ended

Three floors of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi collapsed during efforts to clear terrorists who had laid siege to the building for four days, trapping bodies inside, President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address Tuesday.

Five of the gunmen were killed in the fighting, Kenyatta said. Eleven other people had been arrested over possible connections to the attack, which left 61 civilians and six security officers dead, 62 people in the hospital and Kenya's reputation as a bulwark of African stability in tatters.

"We have ashamed and defeated our attackers," he said in the address, which capped a four-day ordeal in which Kenyan forces battled Al-Shabaab terrorists for control of the upscale mall.

He says he cannot confirm the intelligence reports that suggested two-three Americans and a British woman were involved in the attack. He says forensic experts are working to identify nationalities of the "terrorists".

[Maggot]

Listening to PBS today they were talking about this same crap happening in the U.S.A. the F.B.I. was concerned enough about it to put out a warning. As I listened the scenario in my head played out of the anti-gun people hiding behind the concealed weapon people that would certainly be shopping at any mall in America. This is a strong deterrent for many of these nutcases. Enough to make them target malls in States with rules about guns like Califorkinya, It made me think............

[Duchess]

A man in the mall was carrying & it was reported that he made several trips in & out of the building bringing people to safety. I'll try to find the story.

[Duchess]

Here it is -

A former marine emerged as a hero of the Nairobi siege yesterday after he was credited with saving up to 100 lives.

The ex soldier was having coffee at the Westgate mall when it was attacked by Islamists on Saturday.

With a gun tucked into his waistband, he was pictured helping two women from the complex.

His story emerged as sporadic gunfire continued to ring out from inside the mall early today as Kenyan security forces battled Al Qaeda-linked terrorists into a fourth day.

The former soldier is said to have returned to the building on a dozen occasions, despite intense gunfire.

A friend in Nairobi said: ‘What he did was so heroic. He was having coffee with friends when it happened.

‘He went back in 12 times and saved 100 people. Imagine going back in when you knew what was going on inside.’

Story

[Maggot]

Ya gotta love them religious, right wing gun tottin nutz.

[HairOfTheDog]

Enough to make them target malls in States with rules about guns like Califorkinya, It made me think............

You're devilish; why give 'em ideas?

And, don't underestimate the power of the fork.



Pitched correctly, forks can be a hell of a weapon...

(But, yep, I'd rather have a gun or be near someone who did if raided by gun-armed attackers.)

[HairOfTheDog]

Well Planned Attack

The terrorists who attacked the Nairobi mall rented a shop there for three months leading up to the devastating attack that killed at least 72 people and injured hundreds more, according to the Kenyan Interior Ministry.

The attackers detonated improvised explosive devices inside the mall causing severe damage and likely deaths, another law enforcement official said. They also had heavy firepower and it was likely pre-positioned within the mall, the official said.

A former diplomat who lives in Nairobi and maintains Kenyan government and international security contacts told ABC News Tuesday night that intelligence services in Kenya had detected surveillance of Westgate Mall being conducted in the past year, but said hard intelligence it was being targeted for a terror attack wasn't uncovered.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/keny...d=20365562
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Three days of mourning is underway now in Kenya. RIP to all of the victims and peace to their families.

When the dust settles, these militant assholes will be able to successfully recruit more nutjobs, vulnerable people, and lost souls into their ranks. Through this massacre, al-Shabab succeeded in gaining a lot of global exposure and upped its credibility as ruthless terrorists willing to stop at nothing. What's next?

Crazy world sometimes.

[Midwest Spy]

Well Planned Attack

The terrorists who attacked the Nairobi mall rented a shop there for three months leading up to the devastating attack that killed at least 72 people and injured hundreds more, according to the Kenyan Interior Ministry.

The attackers detonated improvised explosive devices inside the mall causing severe damage and likely deaths, another law enforcement official said. They also had heavy firepower and it was likely pre-positioned within the mall, the official said.

A former diplomat who lives in Nairobi and maintains Kenyan government and international security contacts told ABC News Tuesday night that intelligence services in Kenya had detected surveillance of Westgate Mall being conducted in the past year, but said hard intelligence it was being targeted for a terror attack wasn't uncovered.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/keny...d=20365562
------------------------------------------------------------------
Three days of mourning is underway now in Kenya. RIP to all of the victims and peace to their families.

When the dust settles, these militant assholes will be able to successfully recruit more nutjobs, vulnerable people, and lost souls into their ranks. Through this massacre, Al-Shabab succeeded in gaining a lot of global exposure and upped its credibility as ruthless terrorists willing to stop at nothing. What's next?

Crazy world sometimes.

HotD, let's not sugarcoat this.

Hundreds of lives have been destroyed because of these motherfuckers.

They're pure evil.

If the U.S. had a choice between intervening in Syria or seeking out and destroying these Somali 'militants', I'd vote all day to eradicate the terrorists.

I hope the world unites and gives Kenya what they need to wipe them out.

[HairOfTheDog]

Kenya already gets a lot of support from the US, Israel, and some other African countries to that end, MS - that support will likely be increased in the wake of the Nairobi mall massacre. The Somalian government is asking for more support to curb the militants as well.

I agree that al-Shabab should be "wiped out", but that's not as easy as it sounds - even with massive global support; conventional war rules don't apply. Moving targets, multi-national terror teams, women and children as fair game, rebel fighters aiming to kill as many civilians as possible and die at the scene as martyrs...Kenya has been in Somalia fighting al-Shabab for 2 years and has deeply crippled their geographic strongholds. Yet, bam, now they're back, baby.

IMO, there has been a lot of progress made in awareness, intelligence, and security overall since 911, and some of the highest ranking terrorist leaders have been taken out by the west (some via drones, which I support with qualifications).

But, it's really only sugarcoating it to view eradicating terrorists, one group or the whole lot, as anything less than an ongoing focused fight/defense against a skewed ideology supported by a global force of armed militants; a force crouched behind a myriad of causes (some more valid than others), looking to strike at large gatherings of soft targets whenever the opportunity arises - or when they're able to create an opportunity.

Will be interesting to see if/how the Nairobi mall massacre affects public security/safety precautions and intelligence flag criteria.

Too early for such serious shit. Time for some coffee and a cartoon or something.

[username]

I remember flying in to Rome years ago (even before 9/11) and I was pretty damn shocked to see the number of security officers there and the way they were armed.






If we're going to have more weapons in our malls and public places, I'd rather have trained personnel carrying those weapons (equal to those used by the potential shooters) guarding those venues versus Harold, Harold and his other brother Harold packing a concealed weapon.

If we want that level of protection we ought to stick some of our trained military forces in there (preferably rooting out the batshit crazy ones first though).

[ZEROSPHERES]

......I'd rather have trained personnel carrying those weapons (equal to those used by the potential shooters) guarding those venues versus Harold, Harold and his other brother Harold packing a concealed weapon.

[Duchess]

If we had security like Israel I'd fly again. I think they have the best in the world and not just in regards to flying.

[sally]

If we had security like Israel I'd fly again. I think they have the best in the world and not just in regards to flying.

Yeah, it's always good to have added security after stealing land and creating decades of violence.

[Duchess]

You betcha.

[Midwest Spy]

I remember flying in to Rome years ago (even before 9/11) and I was pretty damn shocked to see the number of security officers there and the way they were armed.

September of 1985 and I'm in the Frankfurt, Germany airport. Armored personnel carriers in front of the terminal, and armed soldiers like that ^^ stationed all over inside.

The Europeans don't fuck around.

[username]

Well, that's what I call a deterrent as opposed to grandma packing a Saturday Night special.

[Duchess]

I'd rather have professionals do it too.

I remember after ⁹⁄₁₁ seeing tanks & other armored vehicles as well as rooftop snipers and armed military on the streets of DC and it was so surreal. Unbelievable almost. Sometimes I wonder if that will one day be our new normal :(

[NightOwl]

One of the top stories to-day seems to be about Hammami the American Jihadist from Alabama. Is he dead? I recall watching an article on tv about him. His father is from Syria originally I believe the family came here for a better life, I cannot imagine having a son that turned out like this.

Godane, the emir of Al-Shabab and his henchmen have been hunting for Omar Hammami so just who is behind the Mall attack in Kenya. I cannot picture Somali henchmen renting a shop in the Mall to hide weapons. If a shop was rented the person would have to blend in and look business like. I read where a couple of the terrorists wore womens clothing, you could hide a lot under a burka and one of those male long shirts, or just dressing as a tourist with a backpack, like the Boston bomber.

Here is an article on Hammami and Godane


OMAR HAMMAMI: THE RISE AND FALL OF A FOREIGN JIHADIST
September 12, 2013
By Hassan M. Abukar

http://www.wardheernews.com/omar-hammami...-jihadist/

[Maggot]

I feel better packing. I trust myself more than anyone else.
And the reason Israel has the best security is because they are allowed to profile people. Not so in the U.S.