It was about 4 AM when a decision was made to storm the room where the four terrorists were. They had been trapped for some time and the commandos were confident that they were worn out.
The team that was on the seventh floor was in constant communication with their colleagues on fifth floor. This first team charged first, blowing up the entrance to the sixth floor and into a room where the killers quietly awaited their fate.
Those at the front held up bulletproof shields as their colleagues sprayed the room with high calibre assault rifles.
In a matter of seconds, the four assailants had been killed. But they had tossed grenades at the officers, which bounced off the shields and back to them. When the grenades exploded, they injured two commandos in the legs.
The injured officers were picked up by their colleagues and are in stable condition in hospital.
The team, through their site commander General Service Unit Commandant Douglas Kanja, reported that the mission was complete.
They allowed other teams to walk through the floors and check for abandoned explosives. Yesterday, one grenade was recovered and taken away for safe detonation.
It also emerged that the decision to deploy the special forces from Recce Squad was made during the initial moments of the attack.
After learning that there were gunshots at the complex, Deputy Inspector General of Police Edward Njoroge was asked to mobilise and put on standby a team to respond to the scene. The initial report and belief was that the attack was a robbery targeting a bank.
But after locals heard huge blasts emanating from the complex, they made calls and sent photos that showed smoke billowing from the complex.
That was when the Recce team was dispatched from Ruiru. Earlier, State House had sent personnel from the presidential guard to provide backup to officers who were first to arrive at the scene. One member of the team was shot and killed by the terrorists.
The response was swift, with Mr Njoroge and Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti taking charge of the operation and Kanja overseeing the active evacuation.
