By UPA Team
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| Collapsed Upper Car Park of the Mall |
Initially, two elite commandos had attempted to open the door to the strong room but a sniper backing up the terrorists holed up in the strong room took them out. Fearing that the terrorist had armed themselves with enough ammunition and food supplies to last them for weeks, the government was concerned that the militants would hold for as long as they could. The longer they held the building under siege, the more it would appear victory in the eyes of the terrorists’ world. The government then had to give the go ahead to use brute force.
It was not apparently
clear whether there were any hostages held by the Al Shabaab terrorists in the
strong room or how many militants were in the room. The resultant impact and ensuing
fire led to the caving in of the floor above. The rear part of the building gave way hours
later with cars in the above car park tumbling down. This minimized the chances
of any would be survivals.
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| Basement Car Park of the Mall after the Attack |
Due to the fire, it is
strongly believed that many in the strong room were burned beyond recognition.
This was pointed out as the main reason that the forensic experts were taken to
the site immediately the siege was declared over. DNA analysis remained the
only option to profile the identities and the occupants of the strong room and establish whether any of them was a hostage.
Twitter: @PeacefulAfrica
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