MAJOR UPDATE: The Kenyan Defense Forces are in control of the Westgate Mall. The remaining six terrorists are neutralized. Please stay tuned to Breitbart News for more information.
As of 9:53AM: Two terrorists are dead. 20 hostages estimated inside and nine terrorists in the supermarkets. Number cannot be verified.
On Monday morning, the Kenyan government moved in on Westgate Mall and is now in full control of the floors. From Julius Karangi, Kenya’s chief of general staff: “We have an idea who they are, their nationality and even the number. We have also have an idea that this is not a local event. We are fighting global terrorism here and we have sufficient intel [intelligence] to suggest that.”
Right now, they confirmed 62 are dead. They received the number 68 because a few bodies were counted twice. More hostages were rescued over night and there are a few left in the building. No official word on how many.
Karangi told the media the black smoke was a distraction tactic by the terrorists when they set mattresses on fire at the supermarket. He also said they are being cautious because terrorists might be hiding in any of the floors at the mall. He assured people that no reinforcements would be able to enter for the terrorists.
**UPDATE 11:01AM ET**
We can confirm that 3 terrorists have been killed so far, a few others have suffered injuries
— Kenya Defence Forces (@kdfinfo) September 23, 2013
**UPDATE 11:55AM ET**
Update: We’ve arrested more than 10 individuals for questioning in relation to the #WestgateAttack via @InteriorKE
— Kenya Police (@PoliceKE) September 23, 2013
**UPDATE**: Two Somali MPs were caught up in the violence at the shopping centre. Ali Khalif Galeyr, a former prime minister, told the BBC Somali Service he had been having coffee with fellow parliamentarian Buri Hamza and an African Union political liaison officer from Burundi when the attack began. Mr Galeyr said they ignored the gunfire until they saw people coming towards them covered in blood. His two colleagues escaped but he “crawled under a table where I stayed for about 45 minutes”. He managed to creep out to safety when the shooting subsided.
***UPDATE 4:45PM ET***
72 hours after the attack on Westgate, operations to capture and secure the building and release the hostages are approaching final stages.
— Disaster OpCentre KE (@NDOCKenya) September 23, 2013
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.