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| Soldiers at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Tuesday. [PHOTO: MBUGUA KIBERA/STANDARD] |
| By NYAMBEGA GISESA |
Except for a sporadic exchange of gunfire with security forces, hours passed as anxiety among families waiting for their loved ones to be released piled up until afternoon, when the terrorists noticed helicopters hovering in the air.
The terrorists, whose tactics involved a suicide-cum-mass casualty attack in response to the sight of helicopters, started shooting at surviving hostages and throwing them off the building.
The Kenya Defence Force (KDF) was initially unsure of how to respond. Although they had surrounded the mall, they did not know the number of militants or even the remaining number of hostages.
Initial attacks were chaotic as the chain of command between the police and military not only worsened things but also resulted in the military shooting dead a General Service Unit commander.
The Standard has established that the attack was preceded by months of tactical reconnaissance, a well-done study of the layout of the building and the terrorists reportedly operating a shop at the mall and living in a rented apartment nearby.
When the KDF soldiers pushed into the building, one of the terrorists blew himself up, leading to a huge fire that caught parts of the building, especially the Nakumatt supermarket. The terrorists then started burning mattresses and throwing them to lowers floors, resulting in heavy smoke.
After some time, the roof and parts of the supermarket began caving in, trapping the hostages.
“We received a call to go and put out the fire,” a Nairobi City Council firefighter said. “We feared for our lives but the soldiers assured us of our safety.”
The firefighter said he heard several women wailing as a result of the smoke. By Monday evening, the troops had surrounded the basement, first, second and last floors of the mall. “However the heavy smoke forced us to retreat,” one of the soldiers said.
Meanwhile, a massacre of hostages was also taking place.As Monday night set in, drivers of vehicles including those of the police, military, ambulances and fire brigade were ordered to move them away from the besieged mall.
This reporter, who remained awake the entire night, was busy tracking every step of the operation.
At 1am, the first military trucks with additional troops moved slowly and quietly towards the mall. It was followed later by a pick-up truck. There was no more vehicle movement towards the besieged mall for the rest of the night.
At 3am, the troops started rehearsing for the final assault, braving a drizzle. The final assault started at about 5.45. When the attack started, the terrorists are said to have concentrated on killing as many hostages as possible.
Positioned snipers
At the front of the building, the terrorists are said to have positioned snipers and booby-trapped the entrance. KDF decided to launch an attack from various sides of the building. By the time the KDF men were going in, they claimed that four of their men had been killed and seven injured. The military has not officially confirmed this.
Since they did no real-time intelligence on where the terrorists were, they adopted a shoot-to-kill strategy. “Our orders were to shoot and kill anyone who looked like a terrorist,” a soldier told us.
KDF men moved quickly to take control from the ground floors until the third floor, where they faced heavy resistance leading to the use of artillery. As early as 7.08am, about an hour after the start of the assault, KDF had taken over the first, second and third floors. At 7.57, two big fire engines moved towards the mall.
There was a sporadic exchange of fire going on for a while. By 8.45am, KDF was yet to gain control of the fourth floor.
Almost one and a half hours later, KDF managed to take over control of the whole mall after reportedly shooting all the terrorists.
At 11.42am, two Indian men carrying heavy suitcases were escorted out from the side of the mall. Five minutes later, military trucks and Land Rovers started arriving at the mall.
At about 11.50am, we noted the first 30SF Battalion and 20 Para men coming out of the mall having completed the job.
ngisesa@standardmedia.co.ke
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