Cliff JudyKenyan officials say security forces have killed several suspects from the brutal weekend attack that killed at least 60 people watching the World Cup.
Kenya's interior ministry said the five people fled, but were shot down by security forces sent to the country's eastern coast to protect locals. (Via BBC)
The government suspected the five of participating in the attack on the coastal town of Mpeketoni Sunday, catching the town off guard while many watched a World Cup game. After attacking a police station, Kenyan officials said about 50 heavily-armed gunmen shot indiscriminately into the town and went door-to-door demanding to know who was Muslim. (Via BBC, Euronews)
Just a day later, citizens struggled to control their anger after gunmen raided several villages along the coast and killed at least 15 more people. (Via Kenya Citizen TV)
The attacks in Mpeketoni were the deadliest since the fall killings at a Nairobi shopping mall. Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based Islamist extremist group with ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the mall attacks and was immediately suspected of this most recent violence.
In fact, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Mpeketoni, but Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Tuesday the government believes local political networks posing as al-Shabab were responsible. Skeptics questioned whether the president was simply trying to shift blame to his main opposition party. (Via The New York Times)
NTV in Kenya reports some security forces who arrived in Mpeketoni this week surrounded the nearby Boni Forest while others went into the forest to hunt down suspects.
Despite the apparent progress in finding some suspects, Al Jazeera reports 400 families fled their villages fearing more violence. One man told cameras there are still gunmen in the bush speaking Somali and kidnapping men.
