How the hell did Westgate terrorists escape Recce Squad?

By Nairobian Reporter | 5yrs ago | 2 min read

Four masked men stormed into the Westgate Shopping Mall in September 2013 and indiscriminately began shooting, before staging a four-day siege resulting in 67 deaths.

The four terrorists were identified as Hassan Abdi Mohamed Dhuhulow, a Norwegian national of Somali origin; Somali national Yahye Osman Ahmed; Mohamed Abdi Nur Sai and Ahmed Hassan Abukar, both refugees from Somalia.

It never became clear whether they escaped or were killed, despite being surrounded by the Kenya Defence Forces, AP, GSU, Flying Squad and even the dreaded Recce Squad.

Though the military claimed one of them was killed, then Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Julius Karangi and IG David Kimaiyo remained cagey about the matter.

The military claimed the body of the slain terrorist was taken for DNA testing, whose findings remain secret to date. Senior officers however told The Nairobian that the terrorists escaped in the ensuing rescue mission that was uncoordinated and marred with confusion.

An investigation of the attack conducted by the New York Police Department (NYPD) whose findings were released in December of the same year, suggested that the attackers sneaked out of the mall.

A probe jointly carried out by Kenyan and US State Department officials indicated the terrorists were likely killed during the standoff.

On March 12, 2015, Adan Garar, an al-Shabaab commander believed to have planned the attack, was hit in a missile attack while travelling in a car within Dinsoor, southern Somalia.