BPresident Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has said the gunmen who stormed an upmarket hotel complex have been ‘eliminated’. He said this on Wednesday, a day after the attacks where over 14 people were killed in a 20-hour siege in which hundreds of civilians were saved.
“I can confirm that the security operation at Dusit complex is over and all the terrorists eliminated,” Kenyatta said in a televised address to the nation. However, the Al-Qaeda-linked Somali group Al-Shabaab, have claimed responsibility for the attack. This happens to be one of the numerous times the group have repeatedly attacked public places in Kenya, since the Kenyan authorities sent its army into Somalia in October 2011, to fight the group.
In 2013, there was an attack by the Al-Shabaab group at the West Gate Mall in a four-day siege which left 67 people dead.
The gunmen and security forces exchanged fire during the assault on the DusitD2 compound, which includes a 101-room hotel, spa, restaurant and office buildings, shortly after one of the men who happen to be a suicide bomber blew up himself.
Kenyatta, also confirmed the rescue and evacuation of about 700 civilians during the attack, sparking nationwide praise and eulogies for the security forces for their swift and highly effective work.
Kenyatta also gave an accurate figure of the number of dead victims in the attack contrary to the Police sources and a mortuary official previously reported, 15.
“As of this moment, we have confirmation that 14 innocent lives were lost to the terrorists, with others injured.”
According to a police source, two attackers with red bandanas tied around their forehead had been shot dead on Wednesday morning after the shootout, and at least another one blew himself up at the start of the attack,
“The two have red bandanas tied around their forehead and bullets strapped around their chest with several magazines each,” the senior police officer said.
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