Details about Nyali barracks attackers where a soldier and six invaders died emerge

KDF officers walk along the Nyali Golf and Country Club's thick forest as they search for some of the gangsters who escaped with gun shots after they attempted to raid and attack the Nyali Barracks on the wee hours of Sunday. Six of the fifteen gangsters were killed on the spot while others escaped and one of the KDF officers hacked to death. The golf club field is just opposite the Nyali Barracks. [PHOTO: GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD].

MOMBASA, KENYA: Police and military authorities at the Coast are looking for answers following near simultaneous attacks on Nyali military barracks in Mombasa and the Administration Police camp in Malindi in which a soldier was killed.

The soldier, who was hacked with a machete, died later in hospital. Six attackers were also shot dead during the early morning incident.

The attack on the barracks at around 5.20am was executed by three groups which attacked the facility from three directions.

Some analysts believe the attack was a "martydom operation" by a terrorist group that wanted to infiltrate the camp, snatch guns and start a gunfight that would lead to a bloodbath and are pointing a finger at Al-Shabaab.

Significantly, Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa said Sunday that Government authorities had received intelligence of an impending attack but it was not specific on the target. It was not clear when the said intelligence was received and by whom or if it was shared with the military.

Ten minutes before the attack in Nyali, an equally audacious attack had unfolded at the Administration Police camp in Malindi, but luckily no one was killed. Unlike in the Nyali case, about 15 attackers arrived while most officers were still fast asleep. Luckily, a disaster was averted by an officer who raised the alarm. He had risen early to bathe.

The Malindi attackers struck with guns from two directions. They also had jerricans of petrol, which they most likely intended to use in burning down the station after a killing and looting spree. After engaging the police in a fierce shoot-out, the attackers fled in a waiting vehicle.

"In the wee hours of today a gang of 20 youths attempted to raid Nyali barracks but our security who were alert thwarted the move and shot dead six suspects," said Marwa as he announced the events at the Nyali barracks, one of Kenya's most secure installations on the seashore.

Marwa told journalists one attacker was detained by the military and "he is helping us with information", a claim confirmed by the military.

As he spoke, the military had turned areas around Nyali barracks upside down in search of any hiding attackers. They searched the forested areas around the barracks and the Nyali Golf Club and also inspected cars and motorists.

Marwa did not ascribe the attack in Nyali to any group but suggested the invaders comprised religiously indoctrinated youths.

Top officials in the military said although the attack on Nyali barracks was repulsed, the tactics of the attackers and their audacity had provided key lessons.

BLUE BANDANAS

There were many unanswered questions including how a large group of criminals could access the barracks almost unnoticed even after Marwa's explanation that the attackers "took advantage of the heavy rains" that were pounding Mombasa.

The Standard established that a group of men armed with concealed machetes went to the vicinity of the barracks from the beach and from the mainland at around 4.30am.

The six bodies of slain attackers displayed at the Coast General Hospital showed they all wore black clothes and some had blue bandanas and were clean-shaven.

"If these people can dare invade an army barrack in an attempt to enter and cause mayhem, then we now consider this is like declaring war on us. But I can assure you the Government will win this war," declared Marwa.

A military intelligence official who asked not to be named told The Standard last evening that the slain soldier was struck in the back of the head with a machete when he went to find out why a group of men were trying to congregate at the barracks' gate so early.

"The soldiers on duty suspected they were guests but still wondered why they had come so early and while it was raining. Suddenly one of them struck my colleague and as he fell down, the other soldiers rushed forward and opened fire after realising we were under attack," said the official.

The official disclosed that after striking the officer and in spite of the heavy gunfire, one group of attackers scaled the perimeter wall and tried to enter into the military installation as another attempted to infiltrate from the beach.

When the gunfire ceased, at least one attacker lay dead inside. Five other bodies lay outside the gate.

According to most military analysts who spoke to The Standard, the attackers most likely sought to infiltrate the barracks unnoticed without causing a commotion, which is why they had no guns.

After entering the military barracks they could have planned to seize weapons and use them to start a shoot-out with other soldiers, which would lead to a bloodbath and "martyrdom" for the attackers "which would have been a massive propaganda coup for them".

Report by Willis Oketch and Benard Sanga and Paul Gitau