Dozens of armed extremists attacked the small Kenyan tourist resort town of Mpeketoni, killing 48 people on Sunday night.

The Somali-based, al Qaeda-affiliated militants torched two hotels, a bank, a police station and surrounding vehicles. Some of those killed were residents of Breeze View Hotel who were watching World Cup Soccer matches on tv. Local security forces tried to fight back, but were ineffective. Witnesses said the ensuing gun battles raged for several hours as the militants moved from the hotels to residential areas.

Gunmen at the Breeze View Hotel pulled men aside and ordered the women to watch as they killed them. They claimed to be doing what Kenyan troops are doing in Somalia to Somali men.

Witnesses said the gunmen went door to door demanding to know if the men inside were Muslim and if they spoke Somali. If the gunmen did not like the answer, the men were gunned down.

One resident, Anne Gathigi, recounted, “They came to our house at around 8 p.m. and asked us in Swahili whether we were Muslims. My husband told them we were Christians and they shot him in the head and chest.” Another, John Waweru, watched as his brothers were killed. “I was peeping from my window,” he said, “and I clearly heard them speak to my brothers in Somali and it seems since my brothers did not meet their expectations, they sprayed them with bullets and moved on.”

Other victims were gunned down when they were unable to answer questions about the Koran.

The scene was much like the Westgate Mall attack last September where the attackers gave their victims a life or death religious assessment, killing those who were not Muslim. It was the most deadly attack since the Westgate Mall incident when 67 people were mercilessly killed.

The al Shabaab extremist group claimed the attack was in retaliation to the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia. Kenya has been involved in Somalia since 2011 to help the UN-backed government defeat the militants.

Bible prophecy indicates that these religion-based mass murders will backfire. Al Shabaab and its affiliates are destabilizing the Horn of Africa and other North African countries. Its acts of terror against Christians play in the spirit of radical Islamic states that are prophesied to come under the Iranian umbrella. But these acts will incite a European retaliation worse than the crusades.

Religious war is coming and it will be the most violent in man’s history. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “Libya and Ethiopia Reveal Iran’s Military Strategy” reveals the reason why Europe will soon respond.