Video shows foiled Shabaab attack in Lamu
Thomas Evans, the 25-year-old British citizen who was one of the 11 terrorists shot dead by KDF soldiers when the militants raided a military camp. He grew up in Buckinghamshire, UK, but later changed his name to Abdul Hakim.
What you need to know:
- The British jihadist, who changed his name to Abdul Hakim, is believed to have dropped the camera as he was felled by the bullets from the KDF soldiers at 5.45am.
- In the clip, which was first aired by ITV News, Evans is seen moving close to the camera lens, waving his hand and smiling at the camera.
- In a section of the video, another fighter, clad in jungle military uniform, is captured assembling a bomb as he places explosives together and then connects them to a detonator.
A video showing the foiled attack on the Baure military camp in Lamu County last week, in which 11 Al-Shabaab fighters and two Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers died, has emerged.
The footage was extracted from a video camera from British jihadist Thomas Evans, who was also killed during the raid, according to security forces.
At the beginning of the video, the militants are heard whispering a prayer as they approach an area where armoured military vehicles are parked, before they are met with a barrage of bullets.
The British jihadist, who changed his name to Abdul Hakim, is believed to have dropped the camera as he was felled by the bullets from KDF soldiers at 5.45am.
The video captures a total of 32 seconds between the time the first bullet was fired to the time the camera stopped recording.
Before the gunfight at the military base, the film also captured a group of militants, including Evans, in a bush clearing, embracing each other and chanting, probably as they prepare for the attack.
The dozens of armed militants seem to have just gathered, and they do not seem bothered by anything. In the clip, which was first aired by ITV News, Evans is seen moving close to the camera lens, waving his hand and smiling at the camera.
He had a knife and jungle-green ammunition pouches strapped to his chest.
ADDRESS THE FIGHTERS
Immediately after the footage showing him, another Al-Shabab militant, believed to be one of the commanders, is seen addressing the fighters ahead of the raid.
“Tunasikia kwenye redio, Wakenya wanalia kama watoto wadogo, vita vinaanza sasa,” he says ("We heard over the radio that Kenyans are crying like small babies, the war starts now).
In a section of the video, another fighter, clad in a jungle military uniform, is captured assembling a bomb as he places explosives together and then connects them to a detonator.
In most parts of the footage, German jihadist Andreas Martin Muller, alias Abu Nusaybah, who has a Sh10 million bounty on his head, is seen. Security forces said Muller survived the attack.
This is not the first time that Al-Shabaab militants have captured their attacks on video. Thomas Evans has featured in previous Al-Shabaab propaganda videos, but his face was blurred to hide his identity.
One of the videos, whose authenticity the Nation cannot prove, was pulled down by the Kenyan authorities.
One of them was released after the Mpeketoni attacks in which more than 70 people lost their lives.
Thomas Evans grew up in Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom. He later travelled to Egypt, then to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab after several failed attempts to enter Kenya.
He was buried in northern Kenya after a formal DNA analysis was carried out to identify his body.
