Kenyan soldiers launched an all-out assault Sunday night on Islamic extremists holding an unknown number of hostages in an upscale Nairobi shopping mall as the death toll from the bloody, two-day siege rose to 68, with more than 175 people wounded.
“Most of the hostages have been rescued and security forces have taken control of most parts of the building,” the Kenya Defense Forces said in a tweet about an hour into the push.
For most of Sunday, the crisis at the Westgate Mall in Kenya’s capital involved a standoff between the troops and the terrorists, with sporadic gun battles.
GORAN TOMASEVIC/Reuters
A wounded man sits screaming in shock at a parking lot of Westgate Shopping Centre.
But just before darkness fell, a loud explosion shook the mall and Kenyan officials said they were launching a “major” operation to end the tense stalemate.
“This will end tonight,” the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre said via Twitter. “Kenyans are standing firm against aggression, and we will win.”
Several American citizens were wounded in the raid on the four-story mall that began Saturday afternoon, but none died.
KABIR DHANJI/EPA
People make their escape from the fire allegedly started by gunmen inside the mall.
Witnesses said the terrorists tossed grenades and sprayed mall-goers with AK-47 bullets after telling Muslims to leave what became a death trap. Al Shabab, a notorious Somalian rebel group with ties to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the massacre.
“We stood up and started to turn, and we heard machine guns,” survivor Bendita Malakia, 30, told a North Carolina TV station, recounting the initial attack.
“Then we started to run and there was a second explosion, which knocked us on the ground,” added Malakia, of Elizabeth City, N.C., who said she hid in a store for more than four hours before being rescued by American and Kenyan security forces.
KABIR DHANJI/EPA
A wounded official is wheeled out the Westgate shopping mall during the standoff.
Malakia and a friend ducked inside a store where dozens of people were hiding and the store manager pulled down the gate.
“While we were back there you could hear (the terrorists) methodically going from store to store, talking to people, and asking questions,” Malakia said. “They were shooting, screaming. Then it would stop for a while and they would go to another store.”
In a dramatic twist late Sunday, CNN said three of the terrorists hail “from the United States,” and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said FBI agents and local law enforcement officials were likely checking in with Somalian immigrant communities across the U.S.
GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS
Policemen search a man for weapons as he walked out of Westgate Shopping Centre on Saturday.
He said several Somali-Americans are actively involved with the East African outfit, which described the mall attack Saturday as retribution for Kenyan military actions in Somalia since 2011.
“This was a very sophisticated attack … and by all indicators, this was carried out by Al Shabab,” King said in an interview with “This Week” on ABC.
“We know there are probably still 15 to 20 Somali-Americans who are still active over there,” the lawmaker added, warning that Al Shabab could strike here.
KABIR DHANJI/EPA
People run for cover from the Westgate shopping mall during the terrorists’ standoff with police.
“The concern would be if any of those have come back to the United States and would use those abilities here,” King said.
RELATED: AT LEAST 39 DEAD AFTER GUNMEN OPEN FIRE INSIDE KENYAN SHOPPING MALL
President Obama phoned Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to offer support Sunday morning, and the NYPD took precautionary measures, deploying counter-terrorism response vehicles and heavily-armed Hercules teams.
GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS
A wounded woman at the scene of the terror attack in Nairobi.
Despite the upcoming United National General Assembly set for this week, officials said there was no specific threat to the city.
Kenyatta said Sunday that with elite soldiers deployed inside the blood-spattered all, “We have as good a chance to neutralize the terrorists as we could hope for.”
But the situation remained extremely delicate. Al Shabab claimed to have 36 hostages and the Red Cross said that dozens of people were still missing Sunday.
Jonathan Kalan/AP
Civilians who had been hiding inside the mall manage to flee Saturday.
Kenyan troops were seen hauling rocket-propelled grenades into the mall and military helicopters hovered over the powderkeg scene, prompting angry outbursts from Al Shabab on Twitter.
There were reports that Israeli commandos were on the ground to assist with the operation at the mall, which is Israeli-owned and boasts stores for Western brands like Nike, Adidas and Bose.
But Israeli officials said their soldiers were not taking part in the assault on the terrorists.
KABIR DHANJI/EPA
Soldiers on guard inside the Westgate shopping mall.
The Kenyan push Sunday night came 30 hours after the mall first exploded with gunfire.
Reports said 10 to 15 terrorists stormed the glitzy, high-end mall in a wealthy Nairobi neighborhood popular with foreigners.
Witnesses said one of the attackers appeared to be a woman, fueling rumors that Samantha Lewthwaite, a British-born Al Shabab operative nicknamed the “White Widow,” was involved.
Ben Curtis/AP
Soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive after dawn outside the Westgate Mall on Sunday.
By Sunday afternoon, more than 1,000 people had escaped the mall, and officials said the aim of the Sunday night offensive was to rescue any hostages alive.
But Al Shabab vowed on Twitter it would make no deals.
“We’ll not negotiate with the Kenyan government as long as its forces are invading our country, so reap the bitter fruits of your harvest,” the group said in a tweet.
Ben Curtis/AP
Onlookers gather on a road looking down over the Westgate Mall in Nairobi on Sunday.
Kenyatta said Kenyan troops were sent into Somalia to help stabilize the country and combat terror groups like Al Shabab.
Naibrobi is home to hundreds of thousands of Somalian immigrants, including refugees from fighting in the neighbor nation.
The incident is the deadliest attack in Kenya since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi that killed 213 people.
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