Kenya announces victory over mall attackers

Kenya’s president, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, on Tuesday announced the nation’s victory over a four-day struggle with Islamist militants at the Westgate mall, Nairobi. In a televised address, Kenyattta said five of the gunmen were killed in the fighting, CNN reports.

He said, “We have shamed and defeated our attackers. Five terrorists have been killed in the attack. Eleven others have been arrested over possible connections to the attack while 61 civilians and six security officers are dead.

“During efforts to clear the terrorists, three floors of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi collapsed, trapping bodies inside.”

The four-day ordeal in which Kenyan forces battled Al-Shabaab terrorists for control of the upscale mall is also said to have left 62 people in the hospital and Kenya’s reputation as a bulwark of African stability, in tatters.

Earlier in the day, sporadic gunfire could be heard coming from the mall as authorities made their final sweeps through the building.

According to the Kenya Red Cross, 175 people were injured.

The fate of civilians who may have still been hiding inside the mall or held hostage by terrorists remained unclear. Earlier, Kenyan authorities had said they believed all hostages had been freed, but the Red Cross said 65 people remained unaccounted for.

The harrowing episode began midday on Saturday in Nairobi when some 10 to 15 gunmen stormed the mall, shooting indiscriminately, according to witness accounts.

Witnesses said the gunmen went from store to store, shooting people, and then took hostages.

Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Islamist group however insists that its militants were still holed up in the mall  and that there were “countless dead bodies.” Raising fears the death toll could be higher than 62.

“There are countless number of dead bodies still scattered inside the mall, and the Mujahideen (fighters) are still holding their ground at the mall,” the group said on its Twitter feed.

Kenyan security forces were searching for the al Qaeda-linked attackers who are believed by Western sources to include Americans and possibly a British woman who may be the widow of a suicide bomber who took part in a big attack in London in 2005. Al-Shabaab rejected suggestions that foreigners were involved.

Sporadic bursts of gunfire and an explosion marked the fourth day since the militants stormed into Nairobi’s upmarket Westgate center during a busy Saturday lunchtime, spraying bullets and lobbing grenades.

A paramedic, Sakina Stellah, who was inside the mall, told Reuters that bodies were still lying around as troops went from room to room, at times using blasting caps to open locked doors and occasionally firing as a precaution before moving in. “They are just trying to make sure the area is safe first,” she said.

Helicopters buzzed over the complex, which is popular with prosperous foreigners and Kenyans. Al-Shabaab says it launched the attack in pursuit of demands that Kenya withdraw troops from Somalia, where they have battled the Islamist group. President Kenyatta has vowed to stay the course there.

“There are still gunmen in the building,” said an intelligence officer, who asked not to be named, speaking near the mall, which is surrounded by troops. Asked if there were still hostages, he said, “We are not sure yet.”