WASHINGTON (AP) — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers says the terrorist attack on an upscale Nairobi shopping mall shows al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab has a “concerning ability” to strike outside its base of Somalia and stage a sophisticated, multilayered attack.
The Michigan Republican, who has been briefed by U.S. intelligence officials, says the “bold attack” in Kenya where roughly a dozen militants killed more than 60 people over four days bears “striking similarities” with al-Qaida’s multi-day siege of an Algerian natural gas facility in January. At least 35 were killed there.
In a statement Wednesday, Rogers said the terrorists’ tactics, including hostage-taking, multiple gunmen and small explosives and setting fires to cause panic, indicated the attackers planned the operation well in advance and had studied their target for the best time to strike.
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