Al Shabaab gunmen attack Garissa University College in Kenya and as many as 147 innocent people are dead in the shoot-out. This attack is being called the worst terrorist attack in the history of Kenya since the U.S. Embassy was bombed by Al Qaeda in 1998, killing more than 200 people. Check out the video as well as photos from the scene in the gallery and read more on the story after the jump!
Authorities said, four Islamic extremists strapped themselves to explosives and ran into a crowded college dorm in Kenya, which caused a 13-hour siege that killed 147 people and injured dozens of others. Al Shabaab terrorists occupied a main dormitory and targeted Christian students. The terrorists yelled in Arabic and Swahili that the students were now hostages. For 13 hours, the gunmen traded fire with Kenyan police while the students pleaded for their lives to be spared. The bombs that were around the terrorists detonated when Kenyan police shot them. Collins Wetangula, a student, said the gunmen were asking people if they were Muslims or Christians. “If you were a Christian, you were shot on the spot…with each blast of the gun, I thought I was going to die,” he said. The attack in Kenya occurred 90 miles from Somalia, where the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group is based. Minister Joseph Nkaissery says, “This is the saddest attack that has happened in the history of Kenya.”
The four terrorists, two cops, one soldier and two watchmen were among the dead as well. Al Shabaab has been carrying out terrorist assaults in Kenya since 2011. Somalia has been trying to wipe out Al Shabaab for nearly 10 years and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the police to speed up the recruitment of more police officers. “This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies,” he said.
The White House condemned the violence and offered support to Kenya. White House press secretary Josh Earnest, said that the U.S. stands with the people of Kenya, “who will not be intimidated by such cowardly attacks.” President Obama’s father who was Kenyan, and he still has half-siblings and other relatives there, is planning to visit his homeland in July for an economic conference. This will be his first visit to Kenya since being elected President.
Check out the photos in the gallery and a video about the attack below!
