Off-duty soldier saves up to 100 lives in Kenya terrorist mall attack

A man, said to be an off duty soldier with the British Armed Forces, has been hailed a hero after he risked his life to save dozens of hostages from terrorists who attacked a Kenyan mall.

kenya-hero

by Jessica Anais Rach |
Published on

The soldier, who cannot be identified for security reasons, had been drinking a coffee at the Westgate mall in Nairobi when militants stormed it on Saturday.

Despite the gunfire, he reportedly went back up to 12 times, helping people escape from the complex.

A witness told a UK newspaper:

‘What he did was so heroic. He was having coffee with friends when it happened.

Westgate shopping centre, where terrorists took terrified shoppers hostage
Westgate shopping centre, where terrorists took terrified shoppers hostage

‘He went back in 12 times and saved 100 people. Imagine going back in when you knew what was going on inside.’

A picture shows him helping two women out of the mall, a gun visible in his belt.

Following the 4 day siege, Kenya said their security forces were in full control, having done a sweep of the mall to rescue the final hostages.

‘Our forces are combing the mall floor by floor looking for anyone left behind. We believe all hostages have been released,' the Ministry of Interior said on Twitter early on Tuesday, confirming that his forces were 'in control 'of the building.

Soldiers fought for days to save hostages and victims

Kenya’s foreign minister Amina Mohamed, said today that a British woman extremist and ‘two or three’ Americans were among the terrorists behind the attack.

‘From the information that we have, two or three Americans (were involved) and I think, so far, I have heard of one Brit... a woman ... and I think she has done this many times before,’ she confirmed.

A British man, whose wife was due to give birth in a fortnight, were both tragically killed

The death toll has risen to around 70- 6 of which are said to be Britons.

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, warned the death toll could be even higher.

‘It is possible we will discover further British nationals once the building is fully secure,’ he said.

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