More than 20 people killed in a terrorist attack in Africa

Gunmen attacked a popular and elite mall in Nairobi on Saturday, turning it into a war zone as it led to an intense battle between them and many police officials. At least 20 people are confirmed dead and there are dozens that have been injured.

The mall in Kenya is often packed with diplomats and business people. According to The New York Times, witnesses described hearing explosions and gunfire. Shoppers and employees fled the scene as soon as possible, seeing violence unfold along the way.

The gunmen burst into the mall and shot people randomly, also taking some hostages.

As people continued to flee, Joseph Momanyi, who is an employee at the Nakumatt grocery store, said all he could hear was the attackers shouting that Muslims should leave the building.

The Kenyan Red Cross reported 20 people are dead, although a government official, Joseph Ole Lenku, only confirmed 11. "It may go up, but for now, that's the number we have. Our security forces have taken control of the situation,” he shared.

Abbas Gullet, who is the head of the Kenyan Red Cross, confirmed that fifty more people were wounded in the attack at the mall in Nairobi.

It is unclear how many hostages the attackers took, but police are trying to negotiate for their release and retake the building.

One American, Sara Head, told CNN that she was hiding in a stairwell with several people for more than two hours while the shooting was occurring. "There were several of us in there, but there were two people bleeding," she shared. Sara was in Kenya on business.

Lillian Leposo, a security agent, who was at the scene said that the violence was a terrorist attack. Leposo said, “The gunmen shot one person inside his car and two more people on the street as they entered the mall area.”

Government sources say that the attackers appeared to be of Somali origin. But Leposo said that there were reports that the gunmen were wearing masks in order to hide their identity.

Authorities at the scene said it’s too early to identify the terrorists, but suspicion has been immediately focused on the Somali militant group, Shabab, who have been linked to past attacks in Kenya.

Kenya is a beautiful country whose economy is strongly dependent on tourist revenue. It has been a tourist destination for many years now so the militants probably took advantage of the fact that there are people from all over world in a public place such as the malls.

For years, there have been growing concerns that the Shabab would try to pull off an attack in response to Kenya’s government deploying troops in Somalia. The Shabab laid out an attack in Kampala in July 2010 that killed more than 70 people who had gathered at a restaurant and a rugby field to watch the final match of the World Cup.

Inspector General David Kimaiyo of the Kenyan police told reporters, “Our officers are on the ground carrying out an evacuation of those inside as they search for the attackers, who are said to be inside.”

The investigations are still undergoing, and the causality toll is said to be increasing throughout the day as officials are still clearing out the scenes.

This serves as an unpleasant reminder that terrorism is not only unfolding in America but around the world and busy places continue to be targeted. It still sadly remains a threat.