Muslims urged to attack UK shopping malls including Westfield in video from terror group al-Shabab

n the unverified video, the extremist Somali group asks what would happen if a terror attack happened in Oxford Street like the one in Kenya two years ago

Threat: A terror group has called on Muslims to attack Westfield mall in Stratford, among others

 

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Muslims have been urged to attack shopping malls in the UK and other western countries, in a video claiming to be from the Al-Qaida-linked terror group al-Shabab.

In the 76-minute clip the extremist group names the Westfield mall in Stratford as a specific potential target, along with the Mall of America in Minnesota and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.
The narrator, his face wrapped in a black-and-white kaffiyeh-type scarf and wearing a camouflage jacket, spoke with a British accent and appeared to be of Somali origin.
He said: "What if such an attack were to occur in the Mall of America in Minnesota? Or the West Edmonton Mall in Canada? Or in London's Oxford Street?" the masked man said, then called for Britain's Westfield mall to be targeted.
The authenticity of the clip, which features footage from news reports, has yet to be verified.

MDM

Terror Attack: The Westgate Shopping Centre massacre took place in Nairobi, Kenya two years ago

During the video, released late Saturday, the extremist group again said its September 2013 attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, was in reprisal for Kenyan military involvement in Somalia. Sixty-seven people died in the attack.
Speaking on morning talks shows in the US, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, called the video "the new phase" of the global terrorist threat and said the US took such threats seriously.
"These groups are relying more and more on independent actors to become inspired, drawn to the cause and they'll attack on their own," Johnson said.
"I am very concerned about serious potential threats of independent actors here in the United States. We've seen this now in Europe, we've seen this in Canada."
The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the Edmonton Mall both issued statements saying they have increased security since the warning.

AP

Attack Urged: A video urges Muslims to attack shopping malls in North America, Britain and other Western countries, specifically mentioning the Mall of America in Minnesota

In Kenya, the government dismissed the al-Shabab video.
"They're using propaganda to legitimize what cannot be legitimized. When you lead a group to go and attack a shopping mall and kill innocent shoppers that cannot be legitimized, those were not soldiers," Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka said.
"Muslims also died in the Westgate attack.
"It's in our interest to ensure Somalia is stabilized because the instability affects us.
"The video is cheap propaganda trying to re-write history and to get more support from those support them."
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