The debate on banning or allowing Muslim women wear veils in public places will linger for a while as terrorists continue to unleash threats under cover, making it hard for security agencies and the general public to draw a line between religion, freedom and security.
A group of three veiled women in Mombasa, Kenya, attacked officers at a police station with knives and a petrol bomb.
All three suspects were shot dead by police, reports confirm.
The burqa-clad women breached security at the police post with claims that they were there to report a case of missing mobile phone, an officer and a witness said on Sunday.
After gaining entrance into the building, one of the women reportedly stabbed an officer while another threw her petrol bomb in an attempt to set fire to the building.
According to Express, police officers responded swiftly to the threat, killing all three women in burqa.
Patterson Maelo, Mombasa County Police Commander, said: “While being questioned by officers, one drew a knife and the other threw a petrol bomb at the police officers.
“The station caught fire. Police shot the three and killed them. Two officers are in hospital with wounds. Presumably it is a terror attack.”
“Two bullet-proof jackets and an unused petrol bomb were recovered from the dead suspects,” Coast regional commander Nelson Marwa told reporters.
“We already have crucial leads that will help in investigation,” he said.
Two separate police sources who asked not to be named said a woman who had housed the suspects the night before the attack had been arrested.
The Police Commander Patterson Maelo could not verify which terrorist group was responsible for the attack as at the time of this report.
However, an eye witness Salma Mohamed said: “I was at the station to see a relative in custody. Then I saw one attacker jump onto a counter and stabbed an officer in the thigh before being shot.”
Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab has taken responsibility for attacks in Mombasa and other parts of Kenya, saying it was in retaliation for the East African country sending its troops to Somalia.
Al Shabaab was behind an attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall that killed 67 people and a raid on Garissa university in the northeast that killed 148.
The militants also launched several attacks in 2014 that left more than 100 dead in Lamu County region.
This is a complicated matter. The good muslims know very well that the veils is bad for security reasons but they will always argue in the name of religion. If there’s a middle line on this case, the problem would have been solved a long time.