Al-Shabaab university attack survivor found in wardrobe

A survivor of the killings at Garissa University College in Kenya was found on Saturday, hiding in a wardrobe, two days after the attack on the school by Islamic extremists claimed the lives of 148 people.

Cynthia Cheroitich, 19, said she covered herself with clothes, refusing to emerge even when some of her classmates came out of hiding at the demands of the gunmen from the al-Shabaab group.

Speaking to reporters from her hospital gurney, Cheroitich said she didn't believe that rescuers urging her to come out of her hiding place were there to help, suspecting at first that they were militants.

• Kenyan cities 'will run red with blood,' al-Shabaab vows

"How do I know that you are the Kenyan police?" she said she asked them.

Kenyan officials said the teen was rescued shortly before 10 a.m., after one of her teachers reassured her that she would be OK.

"I was just praying to my God," Cheroitich, a Christian, said of her ordeal.

Cheroitich appeared tired and thirsty, sipping on yogurt and a soft drink, but otherwise seemed in good health.

She said she drank a body lotion because she was so thirsty and hungry while in hiding.

Another tale of survival supports Cheroitich's wariness. Survivor Hellen Titus, who suffered a gunshot wound to her right wrist, told CNN that she also hid in a wardrobe, but the gunmen found her.

Gunmen targeted Christians

Tossing grenades and spraying bullets at cowering students, the attackers initially killed indiscriminately.

But they later freed some Muslims and instead targeted Christian students during a siege that lasted about 15 hours.

Titus said one of the first things the al-Shabaab gunmen did when they entered the campus was to head for a lecture hall where Christians were in prayer.

"They investigated our area. They knew everything," said Titus, a Christian, who said the gunmen killed about 40 of her fellow students.

The 21-year-old English literature student told The Associated Press that she smeared blood from classmates on her face and hair and played dead. She was rescued 10 hours later.

The gunmen also told students hiding in dormitories to come out, assuring them that they would not be killed, Titus said.

• Al-Shabaabattack leaves at least 147 dead at Kenyan university
• Al-Shabaab attack on college campus was precise, survivor says

In another development on Saturday, Somalia's al-Shabaab group warned of more attacks in Kenya like the assault on the university.

"Kenyan cities will run red with blood," said al-Shabaab, according to the SITE intelligence monitoring group.

The militants said the attack on Garissa college was in retaliation for killings carried out by Kenyan troops fighting the rebels in Somalia.

Five people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Garissa attack, a Kenyan official said.