NAIROBI - With chilling nonchalance,
gunmen who massacred at least 67
people wander through Kenya's
Westgate mall, seen for the first time in
security camera footage providing
possible vital evidence to investigators.
Calmly searching corners of the mall —
possibly hunting for more victims to kill
after executing scores in the main hall
of the upmarket complex — the closed-
circuit television footage shows four
young men ambling around with AK-47
rifles in hand.
Witnesses in the mall described how
the fighters stormed the complex
midday Saturday when it was crowded
with shoppers, firing from the hip and
hurling grenades at shoppers and staff.
But hours after the attack started, the
men are seen in the bread section of
the supermarket, the bulk of their
victims most likely already dead.
They wear backpacks, perhaps stuffed
with the ammunition that they would
use to keep Kenya's army — backed by
foreign special forces — at bay for four
days.
Two weeks since Somalia's Al-Qaeda
linked Shebab insurgents attacked
Nairobi's upmarket Westgate mall, the
CCTV footage could help answer
questions about the bloodbath attack.
One thing is clear: the men were
organised, apparently unafraid, and
utterly ruthless.
During the attack, Kenyan officials said
that between 10 – 15 gunmen were
involved, and later claimed to have
killed five, although it is not clear where
those bodies are now.
But the footage released so far, which
covers only one part of the mall and
which was taken around five hours into
the 80-hour siege, shows only four men.
In one shot, one of the attackers looks
at supermarket checkout tills, knocking
over computer screens.
Fate of gunmen in footage unknown
At the same time, he is seen chatting
on a mobile phone, suggesting either
coordination with attackers inside the
mall or even to commanders outside or
in Somalia.
The Shebab issued a running
commentary throughout the attack via
various Twitter accounts, claiming to be
in contact with the fighters inside the
mall.
In addition, no female attackers are
seen, in line with Shebab claims all the
insurgents were men, and suggesting
reports that wanted British 'White
Widow' Samantha Lewthwaite was
involved were false.
It could provide key clues for detectives,
not least because the supermarket area
— where the footage was shot — was
later engulfed in a fierce blaze.
Kenyan and foreign investigators are
continuing to comb the carcass of the
mall for clues to the perpetrators and
their operating methods.
Part of the rooftop parking of the mall
collapsed on top of the supermarket,
leaving the key site where the
insurgents are understood to have
made their final stand — along with
possible hostages — buried under
tonnes of concrete slabs and rubble.
Thirty-nine people are still listed as
missing by the Red Cross.
It is not clear what happened to those
seen in the footage: whether they died
in a shootout as Kenya claims, or in the
fire that gutted part of the mall, or
indeed, if they managed to escape.
The Shebab have warned they will step
up militant attacks against Kenya, after
Nairobi refused to pull its troops out of
Somalia, warning last week in the latest
in string of threats that "rivers of blood
will flow in Nairobi."
Kenya invaded southern Somalia to
attack Shebab bases two years ago, and
later joined the 17,700-strong African
Union force deployed in the country.
Meanwhile foreign special forces staged
a nighttime sea and air attack on a key
Shebab base in southern Somalia,
apparently targeting a senior Islamist
commander. The Shebab said they
fought off the assault.
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