Militants who attacked a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi held hostages inside the mall on Sunday, where dozens have been killed in an attack by the al Shabaab group that opposes Kenya's participation in a peacekeeping mission in neighboring Somalia.
According to AP, the Kenyan military remained in a tense standoff with
extremists Sunday, as the toll rose to 59 dead, including children, and
175 wounded in the attack at an upscale mall, a Kenyan minister said.
Israeli forces were working with Kenyan counterparts at scene, Kenyan
sources told CNN. A Kenyan security official also said Israeli forces
have entered the shopping mall in the capital Nairobi, according to
Press TV.
Israel has enjoyed good relation with the Kenyan government over the
past years while it has played major role in suppressing the Islamists
in Somalia.
Foreigners, including two diplomats - one from Canada and another from
Ghana - were killed in Saturday's attack at Westgate mall.
Shortly after the shots were fired, troops in camouflage ran crouching
below a restaurant terrace along the front of the building that had been
buzzing with customers when assailants charged in. One witness said
they first told Muslims to leave.
Ten to 15 attackers remained in the mall and Kenyan forces controlled
the security cameras inside the shopping center. Former Kenyan Prime
Minister Raila Odinga told reporters at the mall that he has been told
that officials couldn't determine the exact number of hostages inside
the mall. However, media reported that about 30 hostages were still
inside the shopping center.
"There are quite a number of people still being held hostage on the
third floor and the basement area where the terrorists are still in
charge," Odinga said.
The assault was the biggest single attack in Kenya since al Qaeda's
East Africa cell bombed the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing
more than 200 people. In 2002, the same militant cell attacked an
Israeli-owned hotel on the coast and tried to shoot down an Israeli jet
in a coordinated strike. Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku told reporters the death toll had
risen to 59, and that security forces were doing everything they could
to rescue hostages still inside the mall.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said late Saturday that his
government had sent a rapid deployment team to Kenya to help. Britons
had undoubtedly been caught up in the "callous and cowardly and brutal"
assault at the Westgate mall, said Hague.
The United Nations Security Council condemned the attacks and
"expressed their solidarity with the people and Government of Kenya" in a
statement.
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