Via Al-Jazeera:
Mogadishu, Somalia – Al-Shabab – the Al-Qaeda-linked Somali Islamist rebel group – has claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The attack launched on Saturday on the upscale Westgate shopping mall has killed at least 68 people and wounded more than 150 others. Heavy gunfire continued to ring out early Monday.
Al Jazeera’s Hamza Mohamed interviewed al-Shabab’s spokesman for military operations, Sheikh Abulaziz Abu Muscab, as the siege at the mall entered it’s third day. Abulaziz spoke about why the group attacked Nairobi now. He also provided insight into al-Shabab’s relations with the Mombasa Youth Centre, a group the Kenyan government designated as a terrorist organisation.
Al Jazeera: It is more than two years since Kenyan troops went into Somalia to fight al-Shabab. Why did al-Shabab attack Nairobi now?
Sheikh Abulaziz Abu Muscab: We have been late in attacking Nairobi. We did not attack before because they were expecting us to attack. Our aim is to attack our enemy when they least expect us to attack. This time they were not expecting us to attack. We choose when to attack, and best time to attack.
AJ: Is this al-Shabab’s first attack in Nairobi?
SA: Thats not the importing thing. The important thing is it is us who attacked now. It is not important to say we attacked before or not.
AJ: This attack is happening at Westgate Mall, which, when the attack started, was full of shoppers. Why is al-Shabab attacking a place that is full of civilians?
SA: The place we attacked is Westgate shopping mall. It is a place where tourists from across the world come to shop, where diplomats gather. It is a place where Kenya’s decision-makers go to relax and enjoy themselves. Westgate is a place where there are Jewish and American shops. So we have to attack them.