Al-Shabaab admits killing 6 Christians in Kenya
The militant group Al-Shabaab admitted killing six Christians in Mandera town in Northeastern Kenya in an attempt to push them out of the predominantly Muslim region.
According to the BBC, the radio station run by the militant group reported that the attack was planned and that it specifically targeted Christians. A spokesperson for the group said they wanted non-Muslims to leave what they considered to be Muslim areas.
Police reported that the grenade and gun attack took place in a residential area when people were already sleeping. Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shiswa stated that a telecommunications site was also targeted but only to divert attention from the attack at the residential area.
"This must have been planned over a long period... It was executed with a lot efficiency," Shiswa told the BBC.
A survivor named Sadiq Sharif noted that the militants were able to raid the compound despite the fact that it was near a police station.
"However, I would like to thank the four local police reservists who rescued us. If it were not for them, no one would have survived," Sharif told the BBC.
Ali Roba, the governor of Mandera county, told Reuters that the town could have suffered more casualties if it had not been for the quick response of security forces.
"From the nature and style of the attack, it will obviously be al-Shabaab," said Roba.
Mandera has been targeted repeatedly by the Somali-based militants because it is situated at the border of Somalia. The Kenyan government stated in 2015 that it would erect a wall along the border to keep out militants but Somalia's government and the border communities resisted the plan.
Al-Shabaab 's attacks in Kenya are aimed mainly at non-Muslims. In December 2014, 38 non-Muslim quarry workers were killed by Al-Shabaab after they were separated from the Muslim workers. In April 2015, the group targeted Christians in an assault that killed 148 people in Kenya's Garissa University College.
