KENYA: Militants attack hotels, a bank and a police station with guns and at least one explosive device on Sunday, leaving at least 48 people dead

Record ID: 354990

  • Title: KENYA: Militants attack hotels, a bank and a police station with guns and at least one explosive device on Sunday, leaving at least 48 people dead
  • Date: 16th June 2014
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAMU DEPUTY GOVERNOR, ERIC MUGO, SAYING: "So far the bodies which we have managed to collect from the streets which have already been taken to the local mortuary are a lot of them but there are still more bodies lying on the way to Kibaoni and some still on the streets and in the same we have not been able to identify - as of now we have not been able
  • Embargoed: 1st July 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA56GMT4378ITX9VTTUAS3EPPDJ
  • Story Text: At least 48 people were killed and more than 25 wounded when unidentified gunmen attacked buildings in the coastal Kenyan town of Malindi overnight, Deputy Governor said on Monday (June 16).
    Militants targeted two hotels, a bank and a police station with guns and at least one explosive device. The assault on Sunday (June 15) night was the latest in a string of attacks that have hurt Kenya's tourism business, a key source of foreign exchange.

    "So far the bodies which we have managed to collect from the streets which have already been taken to the local mortuary are a lot of them but there are still more bodies lying on the way to Kibaoni and some still on the streets and in the same we have not been able to identify - as of now we have not been able to identify the real number of the casualties who might be in the other hotels which have already been burnt out," Lamu Deputy Eric Mugo said.
    Those killed include a policeman who worked as a driver for a police chief in the town. Many Mpeketoni residents had fled from the attack into nearby forests.
    Ten burnt-out vehicles were also visible in various places around and inside Mpeketoni and a branch of a Kenyan bank in the town was also gutted by the attackers.

    "Those guys were in large numbers they were over 50 of them in two vans and I hear from the sources they have already burnt down their vans and they might have escaped to the forest because I don't believe they went all through the roads because our officers had put an ambush in each and every corner but on the same what I say they were some delays interms of response," Mugo added.
    Residents said there were at least 30 attackers who used two vehicles in the raid.
    Two military helicopters patrolled the air over the town on Monday morning. Mpeketoni is located more than three hours drive from the border with Somalia, where Kenya has troops fighting the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants.
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