Israel and Kenya

[Chuckt]

When at least a dozen Al Qaida linked terrorists stormed an affluent shopping mall in the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi early last week, killing around 70 people in the process, an Israeli link to the crisis quickly became apparent. For one thing, Israeli investors are widely known to own some of the shops in the Westgate mall, which is also a well-known hangout for Israeli tourists visiting the east African country. Many Kenyan media outlets speculated that the fact the terrorists apparently focused on shooting dead non-Kenyan tourists who were unfortunately visiting the mall at the time of the terrorist attack meant that Jewish Israeli tourists might have been the intended targets. Several hours after the Jihadi terrorists launched their atrocious attack, reports began to circulate that elite Israeli security personnel were on site aiding Kenyan official in their efforts to end the hostage standoff which followed the initial attack. While Israeli officials were not overly specific in their subsequent confirmation of the reports, they did say they were glad to help their close ally Kenya to peacefully end the Islamic terrorist standoff.

10/01/2013

Israel and Kenya - Radio Program | Friends of Israel

 

[waltky]

al-Shabaab gonna hit Kenya again?...

US intel info suggests al-Shabaab may be planning new attacks
September 27th, 2013 ~ The U.S. intelligence community is monitoring a specific stream of classified information suggesting the terror group believed to be behind the Nairobi shopping mall attack may be planning new attacks in East Africa, particularly in Kenya, CNN has learned.

Two U.S. officials said the information does not include details of a target or date. But it is the first detailed indication that they may have information to validate threats made by Somali-based al-Shabaab that more attacks were planned after the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi. "We are concerned," one official said. "There are data points that worry us. Our intelligence is focused on how do we prevent any more attacks," the other official said. Both have access to the latest intelligence. They declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information. Both said the classified information is separate from public claims and tweets by al-Shabaab threatening another attack.

The new information emerged subsequent to the attack and standoff at the Westgate Mall between last Saturday and this past Tuesday that killed at least 67 people. It is also part of the reason for the State Department's worldwide caution notice on Wednesday. The notice said "credible information indicates terrorist groups also seek to continue attacks against U.S. interests in the Middle East and North Africa. The U.S. government remains highly concerned about possible attacks against Americans, facilities, businesses, and perceived U.S. and Western interests."

An image grab taken from AFP TV shows Kenyan troops taking position on September 21, 2013 inside the Westgate mall in Nairobi.

The State Department on Friday reissued a separate warning - first put out in July - about travel specific to Kenya, saying Americans already there or planning to go there should "evaluate their personal security situation." While the officials wouldn't discuss classified intelligence, it's well understood that the U.S. monitors and intercepts telephone and Internet communications, which generally spike after a successful attack. All of the so-called chatter is being analyzed for clues. CNN also learned military and security personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi - within minutes of realizing the severity of the mall attack - tapped their emergency stockpile of gear and began providing Kenyan forces with night vision equipment and tear-gas type riot-control chemicals.

The Pentagon still has not spoken publicly about any effort to help the Kenyans, but several U.S. officials confirmed those details to CNN. A priority now is to gather fingerprint and DNA information from the scene to try to determine the identities of any of the dead attackers, as well as perhaps suspects who fled the scene, according to an Obama administration official with access to the latest information. U.S. and international experts are assisting in that effort. But there is still no confirmation that any of the attackers were American citizens as al-Shabaab has claimed, U.S. officials said. So far, it appears there was no direct connection yet between the attackers and the East African cell of al Qaeda. That cell, however, remains under close scrutiny by American intelligence.

US intel info suggests al-Shabaab may be planning new attacks ? CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs

See also:

More U.S. Marines fortify Nairobi embassy security
September 26th, 2013 ~ More U.S. Marines are fortifying security at the American Embassy in Nairobi following the deadly shopping mall attack there, CNN has learned. Two U.S. officials confirmed the move in Kenya, but declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The newly arrived Marines are part of a unit specially trained in enhanced security, including providing personal protection to senior American officials. That kind of assistance was recently added to tasks performed by the embassy guard program after the deadly terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, last year. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the armed assault that, in part, focused attention on State Department security readiness and military response. The security step also follows a State Department travel advisory on Wednesday about potential terror threats in East Africa from al Qaeda and affiliated groups following the Westgate Mall attack and standoff that killed 67 people. Due to security concerns, the officials would not discuss the precise number of Marines added to the embassy since the shopping mall attack.

While there is no specific threat against the embassy at this time, the Obama administration deemed it a "high threat" facility, the officials said. The United States has doubled the number of Marine guards at the Nairobi embassy in the past eight weeks. The force was first increased during a heightened state of alert during which the United States close nearly two dozen embassies worldwide due to a threat from al Qaeda in Yemen. Security was beefed up again prior to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Separately on Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder said there was no evidence so far to indicate that any Americans were involved in the Nairobi attack. Citing a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the situation and the latest security assessment, CNN reported on Wednesday that authorities want to know if any Americans were among the attackers as claimed by the Somali-based al-Shabaab terror group said to be behind it.

Kenyan security personnel, crouched behind a ledge, watch on September 23, 2013 a column of smoke rise from the beseiged Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi following a loud explosion. Kenyan security forces were locked in a fierce, final battle with Somali Islamist gunmen inside the upmarket mall on September 23 as huge explosions and a barrage of heavy gunfire echoed out of the complex.

Kenyan authorities have said the attackers were from a number of countries, but have not confirmed that any Americans were involved. "We don't have verifiable information that would indicate one way or the other way whether any Americans were involved," Holder said. "That is one of the things that we are trying to do with our Kenyan colleagues – go through the forensic things, materials that we have, physical things to make that kind of determination." United States knows so far that the attack that began on Saturday was carefully planned. FBI experts are assisting the Kenyans on a preliminary basis. They have specific expertise in analyzing explosives and fingerprints. "FBI agents have been on the ground since right after the incident began. We have been flowing resources into Nairobi on a continuing basis. We have had conversations about this matter both here and at the White House," Holder said.

The updated State Department travel caution on security threats and terror activities worldwide included the Kenya attack, saying al-Shabaab had "taken credit" for it. "Al-Shabaab assassinations, suicide bombings, hostage taking, and indiscriminate attacks in civilian-populated areas are also frequent in Somalia," the advisory said. Holder added that there was no "specific, credible evidence" that al-Shabaab is planning anything domestically. "I am not sure they have the capacity to do anything in the United States," he said, adding that the United States is taking the "threat that they pose" seriously. A U.S. official with access to the latest intelligence told CNN the State Department advisory was issued out of an "abundance of caution." But officials are concerned there could be other plots in the works.

First on CNN: More U.S. Marines fortify Nairobi embassy security ? CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs

 

[The Irish Ram]

I can't think of a worse time to elect a Muslim to the presidency.
We are arming them. We don't care who they are or who they represent or what rebel group they belong to, as long as they are anti-Israel, and anti-America and anti-cross. Radical Islam has the largest lobbying group ever to infiltrate Washington. And we've never treated Israel so badly.

Funny prophesy, the saints with no heads under the alter........
You'd think the prediction would fit the times. We humanely put people to sleep now. We are the "evolved".
But the archaic practice of chopping some one's head off is making a comeback. They are chopping Christian's heads off in Muslim overwhelmed countries everywhere. And this is just a shadow of what's to come.
Chalk another one up for the God that can see the end from the beginning.