12 beheaded in Mozambique attack in March
Twelve decapitated bodies were found after a jihadist raid on the Mozambique town of Palma last month, strewn in front of a hotel where dozens had sought safety, army and private security sources said. Islamic State-linked militants launched coordinated attacks on the northern town on March 24, ransacking buildings and murdering residents as thousands fled into surrounding bush. Close to 200 people, mainly civil servants and foreigners working on a nearby gas project, sheltered in the beachfront Amarula Palma Hotel for several days. Officials claim the town is back under government control and have allowed some media in to report on the aftermath.
Mozambican state television TVM on Wednesday broadcast images of the plundered Amarula, and a local police officer pointing to various spots near the main entrance where he said 12 decapitated bodies were scattered. The officer, Pedro da Silva Negro, told reporters he personally “took charge” of burying them under a nearby mango tree. “Their hands were tied and they were in an advanced state of decomposition,” he said. The grim finding was later confirmed by a private security source and a military commander. “There were 12 bodies, they were all beheaded, one of my officers was there,” Lionel Dyck, owner of Dyck Advisory Group (DAG), a private South African security company contracted to help Mozambique fight the insurgency, told AFP on Friday.