King: Nairobi attackers recruited in US

A US congressman has said that the group behind the deadly attack on a shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya, recruited up to 50 people from communities in the US.

Peter King, a Republican member of the US House Homeland Security Committee, said Sunday that Somalia’s al-Shabab militants who have claimed responsibility for the attack on the Nairobi mall have recruited up to 50 people from Somali American communities inside the US.

The New York Republican also told ABC News’ This Week that some of the Americans recruited by al-Shabab are still active and might return and “use their abilities on the US.”

King said the FBI is on alert for any suspected plans for follow up attacks on targets in the US.

Kenyan troops are still battling armed militants who stormed Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall on Saturday.

By late Sunday, at least 68 people were killed and the death toll is expected to rise.

The US is reportedly preparing a list of targets for possible military strikes in Kenya and some other African countries.

Retired Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff of the US Army from 2008 to 2012, has said the strikes are aimed at targeting militants involved in the deadly attack on the Westgate shopping mall.

“They’re developing targets . . . and refining target lists, trying to fill in any gaps that we possibly have,” Chiarelli said during an interview with ABC News’ This Week on Sunday.