Mastermind behind Garissa attack revealed as families continue to identify victims
The mastermind behind the Garissa University College attack that saw 147 students brutally murdered by al-Shabaab militants last week, has been identified as Mohamed Mohamud.
Kenya’s interior ministry posted a ‘Most Wanted’ notice for Mohamud on Sunday, offering 20 million Kenyan shillings (about R2.57 million) for his capture.
According to the notice, Mohamud is in charge of external operations against Kenya, and is the regional commander in al-Shabaab in charge of the Juba region.
Meanwhile, the families of the slain students queued up at a mortuary in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, to identify the bodies of their loved ones. One family was there to identify the body of 20-year old Veronica Felix.
“Those children died a very painful death. I can’t even identify my own child from her face,” her mother, Florence, told Al Jazeera. “She has wounds on her skin all over her body. Her skin has burned, she has no hair. I just identified her with her folded toe and the scar on her thigh.”
On Thursday five masked gunmen stormed the campus, shooting indiscriminately and taking hostages. Some students reported seeing the headless bodies of those beheaded during the attack. The militants are said to have singled out the Christian students.
A total of 147 people were killed and 79 injured.
Four militants were killed in the standoff and one arrested while trying to flee. The attack is said to be the biggest attributed to the Somali terrorist group in the East African country.
Yesterday the interior ministry confirmed one of the militants was identified as the son of a government official.
According to al-Shabaab, the university attack was revenge for Kenya sending troops into Somalia to aid in the fight against the militants.
