Kenyan officials have arrested five people involved in the massacre at Garissa University College. The attack was carried out by Islamic extremists from the terrorist group Al-Shabab and targeted non-Muslims. At least 148 people were killed .
According to Fox News , three new suspects were arrested yesterday fleeing into Somalia after the Kenya massacre. They are believed to be associates of Mohamed Mohamud, who used to teach at an Islamic school which may have organized the Kenya massacre. Kenya’s Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka announced the arrest of the three extremists in a Twitter post .
Two others suspects were arrested at the scene of the massacre, bringing the total number of suspected killers to five. Many more are likely involved in the Kenya massacre, including Mohamed Mohamud himself, who is also known as Dulyadin Gamadhere. A $220,000 bounty has been placed on the alleged leader of the terrorist attack for anyone with information that leads to his arrest.
According to BBC News , one of the five suspects was a security guard at the university, which confirms the criticisms against Garissa that security services were not prepared for the attack. The institution received a warning that a massacre may occur, but only two security guards were stationed during the attack. One of the survivors reported that students had complained to the university about low security in the past. Even more distressing, another survivor claimed one of the terrorists appeared to know the layout of the university very well.
The gunmen were heard speaking to each other in Swahili during the Kenya massacre, which is the official language of Kenya. This could mean the terrorists were not from Somalia, where Al-Shabab resides, but actual natives of Kenya.
Another suspect arrested after the attack is a Tanzanian national who is not affiliated with the university in any way.
Four more gunmen involved in the Kenya massacre were killed during the attack. Their bodies have been displayed publicly in the city of Garissa.
Despite having five suspects in custody for the Kenya massacre, authorities fear many more attacks will come. The Islamic extremists threatened “another bloodbath” in a statement they released via email. The terrorist group Al-Shabab has ties to Al Qaeda.
In response to the Kenya massacre, President Uhuru Kenyatta commanded authorities to fast-track the training of 10,000 new recruits to prevent further attacks. He claimed that the nation had “suffered unnecessarily” due to poor security.
[Image courtesy of Getty]