Kenya Mall Attack: Up To 130 Feared Dead As Authorities Search Rubble
REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic Smoke rises over Westgate Shopping Centre after an explosion in Nairobi, September 23, 2013. Powerful explosions sent thick smoke billowing from the Nairobi mall where militants from Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group threatened to kill hostages on the third day of a raid in which at least 59 have already died. Up to 60 more victims are expected to be recovered from the Nairobi shopping mall siege, as rescue workers moved in to search the rubble.
Officials have warned that the death toll could rise by at least 60 as more bodies are found in the rubble of the mall, where three floors have collapsed.
As it stands, 67 people (61 citizens and six security officials) have died. Another 63 are listed as missing by the Kenyan Red Cross.
A Twitter account believed to be from al-Shabaab, the perpetrators of the attack, claimed today that 137 hostages had died in the siege, a figure impossible to verify. They also accused Kenyan troops of using "chemical agents" to end the siege.
Twitter: HSM Press Office - @UKenyatta and his govt are to be held culpable for #Westgate and for the lives of the 137 hostages who were being held by the Mujahideen
Forensic experts from the US, Britain and Israel are assisting Kenyan authorities in their investigation of the attack.
Scotland Yard has said a team of officers has travelled to Nairobi to help with "post incident procedures" including gathering scientific evidence, as well as supporting the work of British coroners.
A Foreign Office spokesman has said the UK is doing everything possible to support Kenya in bringing those responsible for the "vicious attack" to justice.
The siege, which began on Saturday, finally came to an end on Tuesday, with five militants killed and 11 in custody. Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, declared three days of mourning.
The Foreign Office confirmed that a Briton had been detained in the Kenyan capital but could not say if the detention was being linked to the mall shootings, or give details of when and where the person was held.
A spokesman said: "We can confirm the detention of a British national in Nairobi. We are making contact to offer standard consular assistance."
The Briton is reportedly a 35-year-old man of Somali origin, according to The Daily Mail, who was detained at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta airport on Monday.
Meanwhile, speculation is mounting that Samantha Lewthwaite, a 29-year-old British terror suspect, was involved in the attack, after Amina Mohamed, Kenya's foreign minister, said a British woman who had been allegedly involved in terrorism "many times before" was one of the militants who laid siege to the shopping centre. A number of Americans, around two or three, are also said to be involved. Al-Shabaab have denied that any women were involved. The forensic teams are working to establish the identities of the terrorists.
Although Mr Kenyatta declared the siege over, saying that security forces had "ashamed and defeated our attackers", gunshots could be heard ringing out from the mall this morning.
Manoa Esipisu, a government spokesman, told The Associated Press that the shots were from forces going room to room in the mall, firing protectively before entering unknown territory.
"During sanitisation once you take control of the place if you go to a room where you haven't visited before you shoot first to make sure you aren't walking into an ambush," he said. "But there hasn't been any gunfire from the terrorists for more than 36 hours."
While Mr Kenyatta said "the worst" of the crisis was over, it was unclear whether Kenyan security forces had accounted for all the militants.
Lewthwaite, dubbed the "White Widow", is known to be in East Africa and is wanted by Kenyan police over alleged links to a terrorist cell that planned to bomb the country's coast.
In March last year officials said she had fled to Somalia and that officers were hunting a woman who used several identities, including hers.
It has been confirmed that six Britons were killed, but Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, warned the death toll could be higher. "It is possible we will discover further British nationals once the building is fully secure," he said.
The latest Briton named was Simon Belcher, a safari company owner, who was with his wife Amanda at Westgate when the raid began. He was shot when trying to protect a four-year-old Kenyan boy.
Other stories:
In pictures: Nairobi shopping mall attack
Shot Briton hailed a hero for saving boy
Kenya counts its losses as terrorists are overcome
Mall siege as it happened
