Kenyan Foreign Minister Confirms Mall Attack Was By Al-Qaeda

[Magda Hassan]

Nairobi terrorists named as police confirm 'White Widow' not among them

A small band of up to six attackers carried out the Nairobi terrorist siege, police have confirmed contradicting their earlier claims that 15 attackers were involved.

Omar Nabhan and Abu Baara al-Sudani, pictured, were confirmed as two of the attackers. Photo: (ENTERPRISE NEWSAND PICTURES)









By Harriet Alexander

3:25PM BST 05 Oct 2013



Kenyan police named four of the terrorists on Saturday. None of them were Western, contrary to their initial reports, and they were all men.

Amid the confusion of the four-day siege, Amina Mohamed, Kenya's foreign minister, said that a British woman "who has done this many times before" was among the attackers, as were "two or three" Americans.

But David Kimaiyo, the police chief, said that that information was false. He also said that Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of the London bomber who is dubbed the "White Widow," and is wanted on terrorism charges, was not present during the Kenya attack.

"On Samantha we have also established that she was not part of the attackers in the building. There was no woman," he said.

Footage of the attack was broadcast in Kenya on Saturday morning, showing four men walking calmly through the shopping centre carrying guns.

• Nairobi mall attack: CCTV images show just four terrorists
  02 Oct 2013
  

"From what we have now that is coming out of the investigation, the number of attackers was between four to six," said Mr Kimaiyo.
"None of them managed to escape from the building after the attack," he said, implying that they were killed in the confrontation.
The attackers were named as Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr.
Al Sudani, from Sudan, was the leader of the group inside the mall and had been trained by al Qaeda.
"He is an experienced fighter and sharpshooter," said Major Emmanuel Chirchir, spokesman for the Kenya Defence Forces.
Nabhan, a Kenyan of Arab origin, was born in Mombasa and travelled to Somalia with his uncle at the age of 16.
Al Kene is said to be Somali from the capital Mogadishu, and is linked to al Shabaab Islamist militants.
Umayr's other names, nationality and biography were "not yet identified", he added.
Somali al Shabaab militants said on Saturday Western forces had raided a coastal town under cover of darkness and killed one of their fighters. It was not clear whether the assault was related to the attack on the Kenyan mall.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...-them.html