Kenya Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed on Monday told the US PBS network that “two or three Americans” and “one Brit” were among the terrorists who attacked Nairobi’s Westgate mall on Saturday, killing 72 people and injuring about 240 people.
She said: “From the information that we have, two or three Americans (were involved) and I think, so far, I have heard of one Brit… a woman … and I think she has done this many times before.”
There is speculation that the British woman Mohammed speaks of is Samantha Lewthwaite the widow of late London 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay. Lewthwaite, dubbed the “White Widow”, converted to Islam during her marriage to Lindsay. She moved to Kenya with her children in 2007 and reportedly cut of ties from her family in Britain and is said to have been involved in terrorism “many times before”, the Mirror UK reported.
Police Chief of Staff, General Julius Karangi, supports this claim. He says the terrorists were members of the Somali militant group and described them as a “multinational collection from all over the world”, according to Raw Story.
The U.S. State Department says it lacks the evidence to confirm the identities of the attackers believed to be American.
Meanwhile there are conflicting reports on the hostage situation. There were reports last night that all the hostages have been evacuated, but a message on Tuesday, published on a Twitter account believed to be operated by Al-Shabaab, claims that some civilians still remain hostages in the upscale mall and are still alive.
Kenyan security forces continue to sound optimistic as the standoff with Islamist terrorists entered its fourth day on Tuesday morning in Nairobi. But Al-Shabaab continues to claim the upper hand.
“You can put on a brave face but you’re shaken,” the group said on Twitter. “Your spirit is on the wane & your leaders lack the moral fibre to do the right thing.”
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