The terrorists who laid siege to Nairobi mall claim 137 hostages were killed after being buried in rubble by a Kenyan government assault team that unleashed “chemical gases” during a “demolition” that caused part of the building to collapse.
“Having failed to defeat the mujahideen inside the mall, the Kenyan govt disseminated chemical gases to end the siege,” terror group Al-Shahab posted on what is believed to be a legitimate Twitter account for the murderous mall rats.
Kenyan officials quickly denied the claim.
“Al-Shabab is known for wild allegations and there is no truth to what they’re saying,” government spokesman Manoah Esipisu told the Associated Press.
Kenya police responded to the Al-Shahab claim with a tweet that read: “We would like to reiterate that its paramount we ignore TOTALLY the enemy with their propaganda. If we listen, we will have failed.”
Esipisu said no chemical weapons were used in its hostage-rescue effort and reiterated that the collapse of the floors occurred after the jihadis set a fire in the five-story, 350,000 square foot shopping complex.
Esipisu said the fire set by the terror team weakened a third floor parking lot, which collapsed onto the second floor, which then came down on the ground floor. The collapse killed eight people, who are included in the official death record, Esipisu said, adding that there could also be terrorists in the rubble.
He said the official civilian death toll remains at 61, but officials have said the death count will probably rise by as many as dozens of bodies that are believed to be still inside the luxury Westgate Mall.
In its tweets about the allegedly crushed hostages, the terror group did not specify what gases the Kenyans purportedly used.
Gunshots echoing from inside the mall Wednesday were fired by government forces firing protectively as they went from room to room after taking control of the mall.
“During sanitization once you take control of the place, if you go to a room where you haven’t visited before you shoot first to make sure you aren’t walking into an ambush,” Esipisu said. “But there hasn’t been any gunfire from the terrorists for more than 36 hours.”
“The mall is sealed off. It is a crime scene.”
Meanwhile, US forensics experts today are helping Kenyan forces search for bodies and evidence.
Robert Godec, US Ambassador to Kenya, said the US team is providing equipment and technical support.
Also today, UK officials confirmed that a British man was arrested in Kenya following the siege.
Britain’s Foreign Office said is a statement that officials were speaking with the man, who is believed to be in his 30s, but would not release details of his arrest or his name. Britain’s top diplomat in Kenya said the man is “not of significant interest” in the deadly siege.
According to the Daily Mail, the man was arrested Monday as he tried to board a flight from Kenya to Turkey. A Kenyan official earlier said British and American citizens were involved in the terror attack but did not elaborate.
Nairobi morgue officials said today that workers were preparing to enter the mall and start retrieving bodies.
The dead include 61 civilians, six security guards and five terrorist groups, according to Kenyan authorities. officials.
Wednesday ntenter the The process of retrieving bodies from inside the mall still had not begun Wednesday morning — possibly indicating that the situation was not yet considered secure — though a city morgue official said his workers were preparing to go into the building soon.
The attack claimed by Somali militant group al-Shabab killed at least 61 civilians, six security officers and five extremists, the president said.
At least 175 people were injured.
Spokesman Esipisu said 11 terror suspects are in custody in the terror attack, which started Saturday after the extremist stormed the upscale shopping plaza, lobbing grenades and opening fire on shoppers.
“At this at this point the interrogations are ongoing and I can’t reveal any of the details,” he said.
– with AP