For peaceful purposes …
Qur’an Sura 3:56, “As to those who reject [the Muslim] faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter …”
Qur’an Sura 9:41, “Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah! …”
Fox News – “The Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack targeting non-Muslims at an upscale mall in Kenya’s capital.
A statement from al-Shabab on its official Twitter feed Saturday says the attacks, which killed at least 39 and wounded 150, are retribution for military action by Kenya inside Somalia. The group said it was now shifting the battlefield to Kenya.
Witnesses say the gunmen asked victims they had cornered if they were Muslim: If the answer was yes, several witnesses said, those people were free to go. The non-Muslims were not.
The group said its fighters entered Nairobi’s upscale Westgate Mall at around noon and were still inside more than nine hours later. Kenyan military special forces had entered the mall in an effort to end the standoff.
Officials fear the death toll could rise further. As night fell in East Africa’s commercial capital, hostages remained inside the mall, but officials didn’t or couldn’t say how many. Two groups of army special forces troops had moved inside as the stand-off stretched into its ninth hour.
Police and military surrounded the huge complex as helicopters buzzed overhead. An Associated Press reporter said he saw a wounded Kenyan soldier put into an ambulance at nightfall, an indication, perhaps, of a final shoot-out inside.
Al-Shabab claimed its fighters had killed 100 people, but the group’s claims are frequently exaggerated.
‘We are treating this as a terrorist attack,’ Benson Kibue, a police chief said.
The State Department said it had reports of American citizens injured in the attack but had no further details. It condemned ‘this senseless act of violence that has resulted in death and injury for many innocent men, women, and children.’
The U.S. embassy said it was in contact with local authorities and offered assistance. Some British security personnel assisted in the response.
The gunmen told hostages that non-Muslims would be targeted, said Elijah Kamau, who was at the mall at the time of the midday attack.
‘The gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave. They were safe, and non-Muslims would be targeted.
