Kenya: 15 Killed in Fresh Mpeketoni Terror Attack

By Staff Writer

LAMU--- At least 15 people have been killed following fresh attacks Monday night in Mpeketoni. This including  touching of several houses  and killing of  two police officers in Poromoko area, police have confirmed.

The al Qaeda-linked Shabaab militant group, through their radio station-Andalus, has claimed that they carried out the attack Monday night and that they killed 20 people. The death toll has since risen to 65 as police and residents said they were still searching the area for more bodies.

"We carried out another attack last night. We killed 20 people, mainly police and Kenyan wildlife wardens. The commandos have been going to several places looking for military personnel," Shabaab's military spokesman, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, told AFP by telephone.

Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Joseph Ole Lenku said the attackers destroyed Safaricom communication equipment, Kenya's leading mobile network before they undertook the new killings.

The CS said the attackers ensured the network was jammed so that locals could not raise alarm.

He said by paralysing communication, the attackers are sophisticated and seemed to know what they were doing.

"This is an elaborate war," he said.

Three houses were torched in Mapenya village in the same area, and police Tuesday were trying to establish if this was in retaliation for the attacks.

Angry residents gathered at Lake Kenyatta area Tuesday morning called for immediate action as they sought audience with Mr Ole Lenku.

There were claims that gunmen had been spotted in Rumshi village about 20 kilometers from Mpeketoni town. Villagers had called police at midnight on Monday saying they had spotted the gang and they were torching houses but police say they had not spotted any of the alleged attackers

Speaking at the venue, the Cabinet Secretary asserted that the killings were politically motivated, and they had reliable intelligence that similar attacks might occur in other parts of the country.

Mr Lenku said new officers have been brought to Lamu County, and hinted that government officials in the county might be sacked in relation to the killings.