Nairobi's Westgate Mall Shooting Massacre
Gunmen ambushed an upscale shopping mall in the Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday, leading to a fierce gun battle with police and multiple casualties, a government source said.
At least 20 people were killed and 50 wounded, said Abbas Gullet, head of the Kenyan Red Cross.
The gunmen shot indiscriminately and took some people hostage at the mall, a senior Kenyan government source said.
Attackers appear to be of Somali origin, a Kenyan government source and Western diplomatic sources told CNN.
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Nairobi's Westgate Mall Shooting Massacre (Hover)
Five hostages have been released from Nairobi's Westgate Mall, the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre said. The government agency called this development "Positive," While adding the "Siege continues."
Armed gunmen are in a tense standoff with Kenyan police and soldiers inside an upscale Nairobi shopping mall, hours after brazenly gunning down shoppers, diners and more. Thirty-nine people are dead and 293 have been treated at area hospitals. Ref. CNN
39 Dead In Kenya Mall Attack; Hostages Still Held
Terrified shoppers huddled in back hallways and prayed they would not be found by the Islamic extremist gunmen lobbing grenades and firing assault rifles.
Source
Three of the attackers at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, are from the United States, according to sources within the terror group Al-Shabaab.
The Americans are among nine people listed on a since-shuttered Twitter account, the sources said. Other names include two individuals from Somalia and one each from Canada, Finland, Kenya and the United Kingdom, according to the list. They range in age from 20 to 27 years old.
Two of the Americans are from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and the other is from Kansas City, Missouri, according to the list. Ref. CNN
Kenya's military announced that its security forces have taken over most of the besieged mall in Nairobi and "Most of the hostages have been rescued."
Earlier reports indicated 68 people were dead and at least 175 injured. Kenyan government and Western diplomatic sources previously said Al-Shabaab militants were holding about 30 hostages inside the shopping center. Ref. CNN
Most of the remaining hostages at Westgate mall have been rescued after a major operation to end the standoff, Kenya's military said, according to multiple reports. The attack at the upscale Nairobi shopping center by al-Qaeda-linked militants left at least 68 people dead. Many of the rescued hostages were suffering from dehydration, Col. Cyrus Oguna, a military spokesman, told the Associated Press. Ref. USAToday