Incident Summary:
09/21/2013: Assailants with automatic weapons and grenades attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi city, Nairobi province, Kenya. The assailants held the mall and an unknown number of patrons hostage until September 24, 2013, at which point security forces were able to secure the facility. At least 72 people, including five assailants, were killed and at least 201 people, including five United States (US) citizens, were injured. Ahmed Godane, the leader of Al-Shabaab, claimed responsibility and stated that the attack was intended to punish Kenya for sending security forces into Somalia.
Overview
GTD ID:
201309210001
When:
2013-09-21
Country:
Kenya
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Nairobi
City:
Nairobi
Location Details:
The incident occurred in the Westlands area
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Barricade Incident) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Westgate Shopping Mall |
| Specific Description |
Mall Patrons |
| Nationality of Target |
Kenya |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
Unknown |
| US Hostages |
Unknown |
| Days of Kidnapping |
4 |
| Outcome |
Combination |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Vehicle |
| Explosives |
Grenade |
| Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Multiple AK-47s (some hidden in the mall by perpetrators), hand grenades, unspecified bombs, and one car bomb that did not detonate were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Al-Shabaab |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Posted to website, blog, etc.) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
72 Fatalities / 201 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
72 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
5 |
| Total Number of Injured |
201 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
5 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
| "Kenya identifies mall attackers, including American," CNN, October 6, 2013. |
| "Red Cross: 39 still missing after mall attack," New Straits Times, September 30, 2013. |
| "KDF makes Westgate Report," The Star, Nairobi, January 7, 2014. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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