Jerusalem—Officials in Jerusalem acknowledged yesterday that Israeli advisers were helping Kenyan security forces negotiate with the Somali terrorists reported to be holding hostages in a Nairobi mall where at least 59 persons have thus far been killed in two days of violence.
Ronnie Daniel, military correspondent for Channel Two, said that the officials have not gone into detail about the extent of the Israeli involvement. Contrary to reports from Nairobi, he said, the advisers have not taken part in armed confrontation with the terrorists.
"The task facing the Kenyan forces is complicated and they don’t have the experience we have in these matters," said Daniel. "We have much experience negotiating with kidnappers. We know how to gather intelligence, how to plan a (rescue) operation, how to deal with explosives."
There are considerable commercial contacts between Israel and Kenya and several of the shops in the upscale mall that was attacked have Israeli owners. At least three Israelis were among those who managed to escape the attackers. A private security official told Reuters that the Israeli military was helping comb the mall but there was no confirmation of this from any source.
