Massacre at Nairobi mall

The Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi was attacked by Al Shabaab terrorists, who held shoppers hostage and fought a 4-day siege with Kenyan security forces, Sept. 21-24. Although more than 1,000 people were successfully evacuated, at least 67 people were killed, both Kenyan and foreign, with many wounded and an estimated 39 still missing in the rubble once the fighting stopped. 

Al Shabaab stated the attack was in retaliation for Kenya’s participation in the multinational force fighting Al Shabaab in neighboring Somalia and said they specifically targeted non-Muslims, Kenyans and foreigners. In light of continuing and recently heightened threats from terrorism and the high rate of violent crime in some areas, the US Department of State has reissued its Travel Warning on the risks of travel to Kenya.