Nairobi mall: Kenyan forces try to free final hostages

Explosions and heavy gunfire are heard at daybreak in Nairobi, as Kenyan security forces surround a besieged mall in an attempt to rescue the 30 hostages being held by armed militants.

Military helicopters circled over the mall as the sun came up and witnesses heard five minutes of sustained gunfire - a sign that at least one of the estimated 10 to 15 gunmen who attacked the busy mall on Saturday was still on the loose.

A Kenyan military spokesman said that the fate of hostages inside was still not clear, despite earlier statements that "most" hostages had been rescued.


The death toll from the attack on a busy shopping mall on Saturday has reached 68, including three Britons, with more than 175 people injured. David Cameron has warned the UK to be braced for "more bad news" and will chair a meeting of Cobra, the government's crisis response committee, on Monday afternoon.

Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked rebel group, al-Shabab, has claimed responsibility for the attack that specifically targeted non-Muslims, saying it was in retribution for Kenyan forces' 2011 push into neighbouring Somalia.

'We are yet to get confirmation'

A large military assault began on the mall on Sunday evening. Officials at the time said the siege would soon end, adding that "most" hostages had been rescued and that officials controlled "most" of the mall.

But officials never said how many hostages had been rescued, and Kenya's military spokesman on Monday was still not able to provide clear details.

"We are yet to get confirmation from what's happening in the building," Col. Cyrus Oguna, a Kenyan military spokesman, told The Associated Press.

The Foreign Office is also investigating suggestions that a female British terror suspect nicknamed the "White Widow" could have been linked to the plot.

It came after reports emerged that a woman was among the attackers, fuelling speculation that Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to 7 July bomber Jermaine Lindsay, was involved. She is already wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell planning bomb attacks.

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