Westgate probe most extensive for Kenya
Foreign forensic experts arrive to collect data on three dead victims of the attack on Westgate shopping mall last week, at the Nairobi City Mortuary September 26, 2013. U.S., British, Canadian and Israeli agencies are helping Kenya investigate the attack claimed by Somali Islamist militants on the Nairobi shopping mall that killed at least 72 people and destroyed part of the complex. By most expert accounts, the investigation into the Westgate attack has involved the most extensive intelligence gathering and sharing operation ever carried out in post-independence Kenya. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- The intense global interest and nature of the operation has put additional strain on the Kenyan security services, reeling from the huge public criticism of their handling of the Westgate attack.
- Just minutes after the attack, highly-sophisticated spy satellites were redirected from their usual orbit and trained on the unfolding drama at the Westgate Shopping Mall, experts told the Nation.
- Another problem that has been highlighted is the dysfunctional mechanisms currently in place for sharing “actionable intelligence” domestically.
By most expert accounts, the investigation into the Westgate attack has involved the most extensive intelligence gathering and sharing operation ever carried out in post-independence Kenya.
The investigation has now extended to nearly four continents, and leading the multinational and multi-agency operation are hundreds of some of the best counter-terrorism experts and forensic detectives from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Mossad, MI6 and Interpol, among other organisations.
The intense global interest and nature of the operation has put additional strain on the Kenyan security services, reeling from the huge public criticism of their handling of the Westgate attack.
Just minutes after the attack, highly-sophisticated spy satellites were redirected from their usual orbit and trained on the unfolding drama at the Westgate Shopping Mall, experts told the Nation.
Night vision equipment and thermo-imaging cameras helped the lead assault teams to locate and corner the militants and rescue civilians.
DIGITAL MAP
A massive electronic data trawl and analysis is being conducted by the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to build a digital map of the terrorists’ “electronic footprints”, in addition to content analysis.
These will help detectives in conducting a “link mapping” to construct a coherent profile of the terror cell that carried out the Westgate attack.
FBI special agents and their counterparts have gathered huge forensic materials for analysis. The FBI has also taken charge of samples from bodies believed to be those of the four terrorists for forensic examination.
The sophistication of the operation and the seeming inability of the Kenyan intelligence services to match their foreign partners has highlighted the huge “skills gap” that must be urgently addressed, say experts.
“The reality is that Kenya’s intelligence and security services are ill-equipped to deal with the huge asymmetric threat and challenges posed by militant jihad groups such as Al-Shabaab,” said a source.
A parliamentary report on the Westgate attack acknowledged the problem and urged the government to increase resources to the security services.
Another problem that has been highlighted is the dysfunctional mechanisms currently in place for sharing “actionable intelligence” domestically.
Experts interviewed by the parliamentary panel have called for setting up of a new agency to coordinate intelligence and make the system of sharing information more efficient.
