Human head, weapons recovered at Westgate Shopping Mall crime scene

Detectives inspect Westgate Mall rubble following the terror attack.

By Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi, Kenya: A human head and four AK47 rifles were Thursday recovered from the Westgate Shopping Mall terror attack site, officials said.

Officers at the site said they also recovered a live bomb- a Rocket Propelled Grenade- and another gun believed to have been abandoned by the Kenya Defence Forces.

The bomb was later detonated by the experts who were called there. The detonation led to a brief closure of nearby roads in the area.

Sources aware of the operation said they believe the AK47 rifles belong to the attackers.

The attack on September 21 claimed more than 70 lives and left more than 200 wounded.

The human skull was discovered in the rubbles by officials who are doing the recovery and search of bodies at the site, almost a month after the attack happened.

Sources at the site said the operation was called off because the section where the skull and the guns were found was still burning.

“We will continue with the recovery tomorrow (Fiday) but we have made some recoveries,” said another source.

Police are holding three prime suspects in connection with the terror attack.

The three were directly and indirectly involved in the attack and will be arraigned next week, officials said.

So far, more than 60 suspects have been arrested, grilled and released after providing crucial information. The suspects include some staff at the Kenya Revenue Authority and Immigration personnel.

Detectives handling the case say they are also looking for at least eight suspects believed to have been directly involved in the attack. Four of them were captured on the CCTV footage at the mall.

“They probably arrived there in time to ensure everything was in order before they left as the terrorists struck,” said a senior official aware of the probe.

 

FBI agents —along with investigators from Britain, Canada, Israel and Germany —were 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.