Westgate mastermind killed as three die in attack targeting Mandera governor

A US drone killed the mastermind of the Westgate terror attack in Nairobi that killed at least 70 people.

The Thursday attack in Bardhere, Somalia also killed two other Al Shabaab militants while they were driving in a car, officials said.

Security officials in Nairobi said they had been informed the attack targeted at a car belonging to the terror leader Adan Garaar, a top official in Al-Shabab’s security service, the Amniyat.

Elsewhere, three people, including two policemen, died yesterday in an attack targeting Mandera County Governor Ali Roba’s convoy on the Mandera-Arabia Road. The governor (pictured) escaped unhurt while a former chairman of the Mandera County Council and businessman Abdi Jibbo, was among those killed after his car was hit by rocket propelled grenade.

Confirming the incident, the new Inspector General of Police (IG) Joseph Boinett said, “Governor of Mandera County Mr Ali Roba, who was travelling from Mandera to Wagadud in a convoy of six vehicles and escorted by ?police, was attacked between Fino and Damasa. The attackers, who were about 30, sprayed the two rear vehicles in the convoy with bullets, and they burned one of the vehicles... The Governor escaped unhurt.”

In a statement, the IG said the National Police Service officers together with other security agencies are on the ground pursuing the criminals and investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Officials said seven other people were injured in the attack, with some left in critical condition. The gang hijacked a vehicle and escaped in it after the 9am incident.

Luckily, when the attack happened, the governor’s vehicle had already passed the area of the attack.

Following the incident, Roba revealed that he had complained to security operatives to be allowed to buy an armoured vehicle in vain.
“I wonder whether Mandera is in Kenya or another part of the country...,” he told The Standard on Saturday on phone.

This was a second attempt on Roba in less than a year, though the first one was blamed on inter-clan fighting. Al Shabaab militants later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the reports, police chiefs in Nairobi led by Boinett, went into meetings amid reports that the Kenya Defence Forces were pursuing the hijacked vehicle.

Police said it appeared like the attackers had prior knowledge that the convoy would use the route where the attack happened.

Meanwhile, the US government has issued a warning alert to its citizens residing in Kenya asking them to be vigilant in the wake of the killing of the Al Shabaab leader.

“In light of many media accounts regarding the reported death of a key al-Shabaab leader, Adan Garaar, ... the US Embassy in Nairobi would like to inform US citizens that the potential for attacks exists throughout Kenya in the near-term. Potential targets include hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, shopping malls, diplomatic missions...” read the statement.