Sunday 22 September 2013

Kenya troops hunt Somali militants in mall siege

Kenyan troops have launched
an assault on cornered Somali militants holding
hostages inside a Nairobi shopping mall to end a
deadly siege, the government crisis team said
Sunday. “Godspeed to our guys in the Westgate
building,” Kenya’s National Disaster Operation
Centre said in a message on its Twitter site.
“Major engagement ongoing.” The number of people killed in the ongoing
siege, which began on Saturday, is feared to rise
sharply from the 59 people confirmed dead,
police sources said after entering the building. “We fear the death toll… it could be much,
much higher than what we have, judging from
the bodies sighted inside,” a police officer said,
after reports from inside of multiple corpses. “There are more people dead inside, and some
of the attackers are still armed and throwing
grenades and shooting at the officers,” the
officer added. The disaster centre reported “sporadic gunfire”,
while an AFP reporter outside the mall said a
loud explosion had been heard as troops moved
inside the sprawling complex. Military and police helicopters were also
reported flying overhead the mall.

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