Attack on Kenyan Church Compound Kills Two, Wounds Three

Religion Today | Updated: Nov 07, 2011

Attack on Kenyan Church Compound Kills Two, Wounds Three

Suspected Islamic extremists with Somalia's al Shabaab militia threw a grenade into the home of a church guard who lives near the gate of an East Africa Pentecostal Church congregation compound in Garissa, Kenya, killing his 8-year-old daughter and another 25-year-old church member, Compass Direct News reports. Three other members of watchman Patrick Mutinda's family were injured in the Saturday night attack -- his 12-year-old son, 10-year-old son and their grandmother all suffered severe burns but remain in stable condition. Al Shabaab activity near the Somali-Kenya border, including Garissa in northeast Kenya, has increased since Kenya began air strikes on al Shabaab-held territory in southern Somalia last month in retaliation for the rebel group's kidnapping and murdering of foreigners in Kenya. Pastors in Garissa have requested additional police security for churches after receiving recent threats from al Shabaab, such as one text message that read: "Christians will see war. Don't take it so lightly. We are for your neck."

Attack on Kenyan Church Compound Kills Two, Wounds Three