Saturday, September 06, 2014
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday vowed to forge ahead with anti-terrorism measures to ensure that the country is secure.
In a statement issued in response to the death of Ahmed Abdi Godane, leader and cofounder of Al-Shabaab, in Somalia early this week, Kenyatta thanked the U.S. for killing Godane in a military operation in Somalia.
He said the U.S. State Department has now confirmed that its operation led to the death of Godane who was responsible for the perpetration of the attack on Westgate last year in Kenya in which a large number of civilians were killed or injured.
"His (Godane) death is a stark reminder that those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword," Kenyatta said.
The Kenyan leader's statement came a day after Washington confirmed the death of Godane who was the head of the Somali terrorist group responsible for killing dozens in an upscale shopping market last year. Washington also called the death of Godane "a major symbolic and operational loss" for Al-Qaida's largest and deadliest affiliate in Africa.
U.S. drones struck inside of Somalia on Monday night in an effort to kill Godane, but American intelligence was not able to immediately confirm whether the operation was a success. The confirmation was announced on Friday in a statement from the Pentagon.
At least three strikes hit a convoy of the militants' vehicles in southern Somalia on Monday night. At least six Al-Shabaab fighters had been killed in the strikes.
Kenyatta recalled that in September 2013, armed terrorists entered the Westgate mall and committed "some of the most savage crimes ever perpetrated on Kenyan soil."
"Kenya, with its partners and allies, will do everything it can to secure itself and the region. And we will stand in solidarity with the victims of the Westgate attack, for whom Godane's death provides a small measure of closure," Kenya vowed.
The head of Al-Shabaab assumed the leadership of the terrorist group in 2008 after then chief Adan Hashi Ayro was killed by a U.S. missile strike.
Godane, who is also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, was Al- Shabaab's spiritual leader who led the Somali militants to forge an alliance with Al-Qaida.