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Update: Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants claim responsibility for Kenya Mall attack – 30 confirmed dead
“The death toll is now standing at 30. This includes those who have died at the scene and at the hospital,” a senior police official told reporters. The Kenyan Red Cross confirmed the figure and said another 60 had been wounded in the attack.
The Kenyan government, which has troops battling Islamist al-Shabaab insurgents in neighboring Somalia, said it was too early to say who was responsible. “Investigations have begun to find out the perpetrators of this crime. I urge Kenyans not to speculate,” Interior Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement.
Police at the scene said a suspect wounded in the firefight had been detained and taken to hospital under armed guard. “We have reports there were up to 10 or so attackers and they appeared to be wearing a similar outfit, and others covered their faces,” a police official said. “The pattern of the attack and the way they were speaking to their targets clearly point to a well-planned attack by a terrorist group”.
Earlier a police source said it had been confirmed that the attackers were holding at least seven hostages. As darkness fell over Nairobi, their fate was unclear. Kenyan anti-terror police could be seen moving around and inside the shopping center while special forces had joined the operation.
The Kenyan Red Cross appealed for blood donations and police instructed residents of the Nairobi Westlands neighborhood to stay away.
The four-story mall, has long been considered a potential terror target. It opened in 2007 and has restaurants, cafes, banks, a large supermarkets and cinema halls. Kenyan security agencies have regularly included the Westgate shopping mall on lists of sites they feared could be targeted by Al Qaeda-linked groups.
Source: Daily Nation and Newswires
