Al-Shabaab leader calling for more bloodshed and destruction

by: jim kouri | published: 10 01, 2013

In the aftermath of the shocking Westgate Mall attack, the relatively unknown commander of Somalia's Muslim terrorist group Al-Shabaab on Thursday threatened to spill more blood in his organization's quest to cause Kenyan military members to cross the border back into Kenya, according to Morris Kirkley, a former police intelligence analyst and counterterrorism expert.

In an audiotaped message sent to media organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, Ahmed Abdi Godane, the face and voice of the al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, admitted that his minions launched the shockingly bloody attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi as vengeance for Kenya's military presence in southern Somalia and its role in helping the African Union fight Islamist terrorism, Kirkley told Law Enforcement Examiner.

Of the five countries providing troops to the African Union's Mission in Somalia -- Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Uganda -- Al-Shabaab’s animosity appears directed most towards Kenya, according to Al Jazeera.

The 36-year-old Godane sent out an audiotape one day after the Kenyan law enforcement and military officials declared their victory over the Al-Shabaab gunmen, who literally invaded the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi on Saturday and started what became a four-day hostage-situation.

Godane, a/k/a "Abu Zubeyr," told Kenya's government to withdraw troops from Somalia or face more attacks in the near future.

"Today make a decision and withdraw your troops from Islamic regions [of Somalia]; otherwise be ready for more bloodshed in your land economic collapse and displacement," Abu Zubeyr said through an interpreter.

In 2011, the Kenyan government deployed thousands of soldiers into after Al-Shabaab militants kidnapped foreigners from Kenyan territory.

Kenyan officials claimed the death toll of the Westgate attack was 72, including 61 civilians, five terrorists and six Somali security agents.

The Somali government, which is barely in control of the country, condemned the al-Shabaab attack as inhumane and heartless, vowing to defeat the Al-Qaeda ally.

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