The horror of it is breath taking. Images are now emerging, along with stories of the shocking level of violence the victims experienced during the Nairobi mall massacre that began last Saturday. Islamic terrorists from al-Shabaab slaughtered 72 (possibly up to 150) innocent men, women, and children. It was described as “scenes from a horror movie with blood spattered everywhere and dead bodies strewn across the floor.” One soldier said “it would haunt him for the rest of his days.”
From The Daily Mail,
Shocking images have revealed the true extent of the destruction caused to the Nairobi shopping centre during the four-day battle between Kenyan forces and Islamic militants.
The first pictures taken inside the site show a gaping hole in the mall’s roof after three storeys collapsed when Kenyan soldiers fired rocket-propelled grenades inside the complex, knocking out a support column, a government official said.
Children’s buggies are left abandoned just metres from the yawning pit, as cars hang precariously over the edge. Beneath many more vehicles lie on top of each other, smashed to pieces.
The collapse happened on Monday when government troops launched a massive assault on the mall where up to 150 people are thought to have been killed.
During the firefight, hostages reportedly had their throats slashed from ear to ear and were thrown screaming from third-floor balconies as the siege came to a bloody end. Forensics teams, still sifting through the mountains of rubble, fear many more bodies are yet to be found.
Shell-shocked Kenyan troops said the inside of the Israeli-run mall resembled a ‘scene from a horror movie’ with blood spattered everywhere and dead bodies strewn across the floor.
One soldier told the Daily Mirror: ‘I have seen many bad things, but this will haunt me for the rest of my days.’
The main thrust of the operation began at 6am on Monday when troops and helicopters surrounded the building, but their efforts were hampered by an Al Shabaab sniper who managed to pin them back for nearly 24 hours.
As tear gas was used to try to flush him out, another terrorist reportedly blew himself up. It is believed the resulting fire may have killed dozens of shoppers in a supermarket.
The following day, the soldiers were ordered to adopt a ‘shoot to kill’ policy and launched their final attack on the terror group on the roof of the mall at 5pm.
The mall was retaken about half an hour later.
