Dividend Chaser on Shooting at Kenyan Westgate Mall

(From Article)

NAIROBI

Kenyan troops backed by Israeli forces battled yesterday to end a siege in an upmarket shopping mall and free hostages held by Somali militants.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard as Kenyan security officials said they were attempting to kill or capture the remaining attackers and end the 26-hour-long bloodbath at the Westgate mall.

"The Israelis have just entered and they are rescuing the hostages and the injured," a Kenyan security source said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry refused to confirm or deny that its forces were involved.

Somalia's Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels said the carnage at the part-Israeli-owned complex was in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists.

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said 59 people were confirmed dead, while the Red Cross has estimated the number of injured at 200.

Mr Lenku said there were still between 10 and 15 gunmen in the shopping centre.

"We believe there are some innocent people in the building, that is why the operation is delicate."

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta had said in a televised address to the nation late on Saturday that he had lost family members in the attack.

"Let me make it clear. We shall hunt down the perpetrators wherever they run to. We shall get them. We shall punish them for this heinous crime," he vowed.

The Westgate mall is popular with wealthy Kenyans and expatriates, and was packed with around 1,000 shoppers when the gunmen marched in at midday on Saturday, tossed grenades and sprayed automatic gunfire at terrified people.

One teenage survivor recounted how he played dead to avoid being killed.

"I heard screams and gunshots all over the place. I got scared. I tried to run down the stairs and saw someone running towards the top, I ran back and hid behind one of the cars," said 18-year-old Umar Ahmed.

In the hours after the attack began, shocked people of all ages and races could be seen running from the mall, some clutching babies, while others crawled along walls to avoid stray bullets.

A number of foreigners were killed, including two French citizens, two Canadians, three Britons, a Chinese woman, two Indians and a South Korean. The United States said its citizens were reportedly among those injured.--AFP