Even as Kenyans celebrate the General Service Unit (GSU) Recce Squad for ending the Garisa University siege in which 147 students were senselessly massacred by Al Shabaab terrorists, details have emerged on how the Kenya’s finest commandos killed all the terrorists and ended the siege in just 12 minutes after almost a 16 hour hostage situation.

The five Al Shabaab guys had taken strategic positions in the upper floor near the rooftop of the Elgo block hostel where they were sniping from and this forced the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), APs and the regular police to retreat because it was difficult for them to go on without incurring many casualties.

However, the arrival of the Ruiru-based Recce commandos changed everything to the utter disappointment of the attackers.

The 24 members of the Recce unit’ special team code-named CRT, were dispatched to Garisa from Ruiru by road in four vehicles each carrying six commandos.

When they arrived at around 4.30 pm, they were driven to Garisa Police Station for briefing by among others the Inspector General of Police, Joseph Boinnet.

Eighteen of them, clad in combat gear, complete with bullet proof vests, were driven to Garisa University where the Al-Shabaab had taken students hostage after killing several others and they launched a sting operation.

They instructed KDF and other police who were engaging the terrorists for almost the whole day to continue engaging them to create a diversion for them to gain access to the hostel where terrorists were.

They went in hot and upon scaling stairs, they lobbed a stun grenade which emits smoke to distract the terrorists, and before they knew it, all of them had been killed, but not before they also hurled a grenade that injured the lead commando.

Each of the four terrorists was shot in the head with precision contrary to allegations that they blew themselves up. However, one tried to escape but was arrested shortly and is now in police custody.

The Kenyan DAILY POST