NAIROBI, Kenya, May 1 (UPI) -- Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery on Thursday admitted security officers ignored intelligence reports prior to the deadly attack on Garissa University College in April.
Speaking before the National Assembly Security Committee, Nkaissery said officers had been warned about a plot by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab to attack the school, but ignored it.
"There was intelligence that this place was going to be attacked so the regional security committee and the county security committee really should have beefed up security in the university but they did not," Nkaissery said.
The Islamist group claimed responsibility for killing 148 people at the school during a day-long siege.
Nkaissery suspended seven police officers last week after an investigation found flaws in security at the school.
He said poor coordination by police led to a delay in response to the attack, and the design of the campus hampered rescue attempts during the incident.
During the attack gunmen separated Muslim students from non-Muslims in order to conduct an "operation against the infidels," al-Shabab said in a statement.
