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Kenyan forces claim upper hand in siege at mall
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Kenyan officials said security forces were in control of nearly all of an upscale mall yesterday, two days after it was seized by members of a Somali terrorist group who invaded with guns blazing, killing at least 62 people.
Four thunderous explosions reverberated through a Nairobi neighborhood in the morning, raising fears for the lives of any remaining hostages still being held by al-Shabab, a Somali armed Islamic group linked with al-Qaida, in the Westgate Mall.
Three attackers were killed in the fighting yesterday, officials said, and more than 10 suspects arrested. Eleven Kenyan soldiers were wounded in running gun battles. By evening, Kenyan security officials were claiming the upper hand.
“Taken control of all the floors. We’re not here to feed the attackers with pastries but to finish and punish them,” Police Inspector General David Kimaiyo said on Twitter.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said the evacuation of hostages “has gone very, very well” and that Kenyan officials are “very certain” that there are few if any hostages left in the building.
Plumes of smoke
Dark plumes of smoke rose from the mall for more than an hour after four large explosions rocked the upscale Westlands neighborhood. The smoke was rising out of a large skylight inside the mall’s main department and grocery store, where goods like mattresses may have been set on fire.
Kenya Chief of Defense forces General Julius Karangi said fighters from an array of nations participated in the attack claimed by al-Shabab.
“We have an idea who these people are and they are clearly a multinational collection from all over the world,” he said.
Karangi said Kenyan forces were in charge of all floors inside the mall, though terrorists could still be hiding inside. Earlier witness reports indicated that a woman was among the estimated 10 to 15 attackers. Lenku said that instead some male attackers had dressed up like women.
Volleys of gunfire
The four explosions were followed by volleys of gunfire, then a thick, dark column of smoke that burned for roughly 90 minutes. Military and police helicopters and one plane circled over the Nairobi mall, giving the upscale neighborhood the feel of a war zone.
On Sunday, Kenyan officials announced that “most” hostages had been rescued. But no numbers were given. Kenyan officials have never said how many hostages they thought the attackers had, but have said preserving hostages’ lives is a top priority.
Kenyans and foreigners were among those confirmed dead, including British, French, Canadians, Indians, a Ghanaian, a South African and a Chinese woman. The UK Foreign Office said it had confirmed the deaths of four British nationals.
From neighboring Somalia, spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage for al-Shabab said in an audio file posted on a website that the hostage takers had been ordered to “take punitive action against the hostages” if force was used to try to rescue them.
At the Oshwal Center next to the mall, the Red Cross was using a concrete structure that houses a Hindu temple as a triage center. Medical workers attended to at least two wounded soldiers there yesterday.
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