Westgate aftermath: Investigators probing terrorist attack launch hunt for missing car

Foreign forensic experts walk out of the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi Sunday. [PHOTO: GEORGE MULALA/STANDARD]

By Cyrus Ombati

NAIROBI; KENYA: Investigators were Sunday looking for another saloon car believed to have been used by terrorists who led an attack at the Westgate Mall killing at least 67 people.

Tens of officers combed buildings within the Central Business District looking for the car amid claims it had been spotted or hidden there.

They gave the registration number of KAK 659P as the registration numbers of the missing car as they moved into basement parking of buildings like I&M Building, ICEA Building, Post Bank and adjacent ones.

Officers were seen communicating on mobile phones and being instructed as they moved into the buildings but they did not find the car.

Another car had been earlier detained at the mall believed to have been used by the terrorists.

Police questioned the registered owner of the vehicle yesterday but The Standard could not establish what he said about his Mitsubishi car.

“The car has been covered as the experts dust it for evidence. There is a strong indication it had explosives,” said a senior officer aware of the probe but declined to be named as he is not authorized to comment on the matter.

The detectives are also building the profile of a man who warned a pregnant woman at the mall to flee for her own safety moments before the attack.

Investigators involved in the probe said the car was retrieved outside the mall. They are looking at more vehicles that may have been used by the attackers. More than 50 cars remain unclaimed from the mall. A similar number were also burnt and destroyed in the attack.

Police have asked motorist whose cars are detained at the Mall to go with documents and have them removed. Some of the cars were damaged and burnt after explosions and a section of the mall collapsed.

A group of Kenyan and foreign investigators were Thursday seen inspecting the silver saloon car parked about 20 meters from the mall’s main entrance. The car’s trunk remained open as the investigators took pictures and notes.

A woman had told investigators a stranger warned her of an impending attack at the mall shortly before it happened. Some bodies are believed to be buried under the rubble of the mall, which will take investigators at least seven days to comb through.

FBI agents —along with investigators from Britain, Canada, Israel and Germany —have been dispatched to investigate the crime scene.

There have been no details on what the international team has found so far in the bullet-scarred, scorched mall but they are expected to independently submit their reports. Police said it was possible that some of the attackers escaped during the mass evacuation of civilians from the mall in Westlands.

The Kenyan Red Cross says 61 people remain missing and suspect some bodies may be buried in the destroyed part of the mall — though the Government has insisted few victims are believed to be still inside.

The Government says at least 67 people were killed in the assault, including 61 civilians and six security forces.