Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement after Somali al-Shabaab jihadists opened fire on civilians at the Israeli owned Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The gunmen told the civilians they only wanted to kill non-Muslims. If someone could not prove they were Muslim the attackers murdered them on the spot. One of those who died was the wife of a State Department employee.
Although we have no reports of any Americans killed today, we have lost a member of our own State Department family: the wife of a foreign service national working for the U.S. Agency for International Development. The men and women of USAID work courageously around the world to help people striving for a better life. While we mourn with her family today, we also pledge our commitment to do whatever we can to assist in bringing the perpetrators of this abhorrent violence to justice, and to continue our efforts to improve the lives of people across the globe.
Four Americans were hurt in the massacre. On Sunday, the Cabinet Secretary of the Interior said 59 are dead, including a Canadian diplomat, and over 175 are wounded. Three women did escape unharmed early Sunday morning.
Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliated group, took credit for the attack. Tensions are high between Kenya and the group because Kenya is helping the Somali government prevent it from taking over the country.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.