Terror Weekend in Nairobi, Peshawar, and Baghdad (Wonkistan)
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Last weekend was marked by unexpected incidents of public and religiously motivated violence around the world. A posh shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya was besieged by Islamists in a dramatic standoff with government forces that has killed dozens of Kenyans and foreigners so far. A funeral procession in Baghdad was bombed, killing at least 65 bystanders. And in the largest anti-Christian attack in Pakistan’s history, 80 people died when Taliban affiliates bombed a church in Peshawar after Sunday services.
All these events were horrific, but the Westgate mall crisis has attracted the most attention by far. Some claim that an attack which explicitly targeted Westerners and non-Muslims was relatable to American audiences. Or perhaps it was acclaimed New York Times war photographer Tyler Hicks’ pictures of the seige.