Gunmen Launch Deadly Onslaught in Nairobi Shopping Mall
Shooters unidentified; Kenya Red Cross reports local hospitals overwhelmed by numbers of dead and wounded
Unidentified gunmen opened fire at an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens.
Reuters reports
Shooting continued hours after the initial assault as troops surrounded the Westgate mall and police and soldiers combed the building, hunting down the attackers shop by shop. A police officer inside the building said the gunmen were barricaded inside the Nakumatt supermarket, one of Kenya's biggest chains.
Some Kenyan television stations are reporting that hostages have been taken, but these reports are not verified, according to Reuters.
Kenya Red Cross reports that local hospitals are overwhelmed at the numbers killed and injured:
#WestgateShootOut Most hospitals full. Casualties will be taken to Nairobi Hospital and KNH
— Kenya Red Cross (@KenyaRedCross) September 21, 2013
Al Jazeera reports
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Kenya — which sent troops into Somalia in late 2011 to pursue al-Qaeda-linked fighters — has suffered a string of retaliatory gun and grenade attacks claimed by the armed group al-Shabaab.
To follow updates as the situation unfolds, view the following Twitter profile.