Gunmen storm Nairobi Mall, at least 20 killed

[apples]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24193284

live thread

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Al-Shabaab: Three Americans Among Gunmen in Kenya Mall

Al-Shabaab is claiming that there are American gunmen among those still holed up in the Westgate mall in a standoff with Kenyan and Israeli special forces.

The Somali al-Qaeda affiliate tweeted a series of names on its latest account before Twitter against suspended the group. Al-Shabaab has been creating new accounts each time they get shut down but a movement of pro-Kenyan tweeters has been tracking down the new accounts and complaining to Twitter.

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/09/22/al-shabaab-three-americans-among-gunmen-in-kenya-mall/

[GeronL]

I do not understand why the US continues to "resettle" all these people in our country

[apples]

Kenya's military says 'most' hostages freed after forces launch attack on Al Qaeda-linked militants inside mall

"Most" of the hostages who have been holed up at an upscale shopping mall in Kenya's capital after it was attacked by members of an Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group on Saturday have been freed, Kenya's military says.

Kenya's armed forces launched a "major" assault on the militants on Sunday night -- about 30 hours after the Islamists stormed the Nairobi mall in an attack that left at least 68 dead and 175 injured. At around midnight local time, Kenya's Defence Forces said it had rescued most hostages and had taken control of most of the mall, but declined to give numbers. Officials said four Kenyan military personnel were wounded in the operation.

"This will end tonight," Kenya's Disaster Operation Center earlier said.

The announcement of the military assault came after Associated

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/22/most-hostages-freed-after-military-launches-assault-on-militants-in-mall/

[apples]

I do not understand why the US continues to "resettle" all these people in our country

I  know I never have understood it either. Yet this administration is employing many from CAIR and MB so this doesn't shock me. Why, well I have my thoughts. Now Bush also was OK with these moderate Sharia types. (I know, no such thing) so he gets the blame as well.

[GeronL]

Of course I also blame RINO's

[apples]

2 Islamic militants dead, more hostages freed in Nairobi mall terror attack

Kenya?s interior minister says two male Islamic militants have been killed and more hostages have been freed as military forces led a new rescue operation Monday inside a mall in Nairobi.

Fox News has confirmed that Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said the two militants died and some hostages were freed in the latest efforts to end the ongoing siege waged by al-Shabab, a Somali group with ties to Al Qaeda. Lenju did not provide the current number of militants still believed to be in the mall, but said the amount of hostages left was minimal.

Sustained gunfire was heard coming from the Westgate mall and four

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/23/most-hostages-freed-after-military-launches-assault-on-militants-in-mall/

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Kenya siege nears end, FBI probes US link

Kenyan commandos are close to ending the bloody siege of an upscale Nairobi shopping mall, Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said Monday.

Islamist attackers were still fighting ? and four large explosions could be heard from the complex ? but the thugs have no way to get out, he said.

?We think the operation will come to an end soon,? Lenku said. ?We are in control of all the floors, the terrorists are running and hiding in some stores? there is no room for escape.?

At least two of the gunmen were killed in the assault Monday morning and ?several injured,? Lenku added.

Somalia?s al Qaeda-linked Shabab insurgents have claimed they are behind the carnage, in which at least 62 people were killed and 175 were injured. Another 65 remain missing.

Kenyan army chief Julius Karangi said the gunmen had different nationalities, without giving further details.

?They are from different countries. We have sufficient intelligence this is global terrorism,? Karangi said.

Several foreign fighters, including Somalis with dual nationalities, are members of the Shebab force, and sources have said as many as five could be from the US.

The FBI was investigating whether Somali-Americans were among the terrorists, Fox News reported.

Kenyan authorities  have arrested ?around four? people at the city?s airport on suspicion of involvement in the attack, the Interior Ministry told CNN.

The country?s Immigration Department said in a later tweet that it had increased security at entry and exit points.
Modal Trigger

A plume of black smoke billows over the Westgate Mall, in Nairobi.AP

Lenku denied rumors that some of the insurgents were women.

?There are no women, all the terrorists are men. Some of them had dressed like women,? he said.

Kenya authorities launched a bloody rescue mission Sunday ? the day after terrorists stormed the mall ? reportedly with the help of FBI agents and Israeli commandos.

Reporters on the scene Monday heard multiple blasts and a barrage of gunfire from the scene, with black and gray smoke visible as the battle raged for a third day.

Survivor Bendita Malakia, a North Carolina woman who moved to Nairobi in July, told CNN that she took refuge behind the closed metal gates of a store with dozens of others.

?While we were back there, you could hear them methodically going from store to store, talking to people and asking questions,? she said. ?They were shooting, screaming. Then it would stop for a while and they would go to another store.?

After Sunday?s rescue mission, ?Most of the hostages have been released, and the Kenya Defense Forces has taken control of most parts of the building,? Kenyan military spokesman Col. Cyrus Oguna told local television station KTN.

At least 10 hostages remained captive as dawn broke Monday in the Kenyan capital, the BBC reported. It wasn?t clear how many gunman were still inside.

http://nypost.com/2013/09/23/kenya-official-militants-dead-in-new-mall-blasts/

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More gunfire after Kenyan forces assault Nairobi's Westgate mall

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- Heavy gunfire sent aid workers and journalists scrambling outside Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall on Monday afternoon, more than an hour after a Kenyan government official said security forces had taken full control of the four-story building from terrorists.

It was unclear if any hostages remained inside the building, but authorities expect the number to be "very, very minimal," if any remain, Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said at a news briefing.

Most had already been evacuated, he said Monday, the third day of the siege.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/23/world/africa/kenya-mall-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

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Massacre mall ablaze after Islamic terrorists 'blew themselves up': Fierce gunfire heard inside

    Westgate Shopping Centre on fire amid fears that terrorists have carried out suicide bomb attack
    Architect Ross Langdon, who had dual Australian and British nationality, is confirmed among the dead
    His Harvard-educated girlfriend Elif Yavuz was also killed. She was two weeks away from giving birth
    Foreign Office confirmed on Monday that four Britons have been killed in the atrocity
    Kenyan government says two militants have died in battle to retake the building
    Claims that five of the attackers are American and two are British
    Kenyan military official says terrorists are a 'multinational collection from all over the world'
    Al Shabaab militants today said they would kill the remaining hostages inside the Westgate Shopping Centre
    Kenyan official reveals he suspects the involvement of fugitive 7/7 'white widow' Samantha Lewthwaite
    Men, women and children slaughtered if they could not recite Koran or name Prophet Mohammed's mother
    Terrorists told French citizen 'they want to kill Kenyans and Americans'




A dead white woman has been found among Islamic terrorists killed by soldiers as they stormed the mall where 62 shoppers were slaughtered this weekend, Kenyan officials said.

The claim, made by three sources to news agency Reuters, will fuel speculation that the dead woman is Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, who is wanted by Kenyan police on a string of terror charges.

Asked if it was Lewthwaite, dubbed the 'White Widow', an intelligence officer said: 'We don't know.'

Moments after the news broke, Al Shabaab, the Al Qaeda affiliated terror group behind the massacre at Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Centre, used their Twitter feed to claim that Lewthwaite was safe.

It comes as Kenyan special forces were today locked in a fight to the death with Islamic terrorists who have been barricaded inside the Nairobi mall with up to 40 hostages since Saturday.

Witnesses described hearing four large explosions at the Westgate Shopping Centre followed by the sight of thick plumes of smoke and the sounds of fierce gunfire after the military tried to break the three day siege by gaining access from the roof.

It is feared that some of the gunmen, who are from Al Qaeda affiliated group Al Shabaab, may have blown themselves up, though a Kenyan government minister said that militants had set fire to some mattresses in a supermarket as a decoy.

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said that three of the terrorists have now been killed and that most hostages were now free.

'We think the operation will come to an end soon', he said. 'We are in control of all the floors, the terrorists are running and hiding in some stores... there is no room for escape'.

The Red Cross has put the death toll at 62 - including four Britons - and say 63 are still missing. At least 175 were injured, in

photos here

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Kenya shopping mall attack: Tweets from survivors reveal the terror

These are the posts which record their harrowing experiences:

 

Kamal Kaur (@kamz26)

?My kids were hurt. We're ok. Unable to call or msg. Thank you for love & prayers. Donate blood. Please. I saw children in need. Please.?

?Image of the boy I was trying to save but got shot instead of my son keeps swimming in front of my eyes. How do I sleep after seeing that??

?Crying. And praying. I lay in a pool of someone's blood, a dead little boy lying on my side. Trying to call for help, keeping others calm.?

?I saw my little boy, my son help a small girl out from Java's service entrance. I could only send him love from where I was watching.?

?Please tell me if everyone is out of the mall. Please. I can't stop crying.?

?My Ruhila is gone...?

?Bodies of children were everywhere. Children. Innocent little children. Holding on to me asking me where their mummies were.?

?The one guy I saw had magazines of bullets attached everywhere on him. Big gun that showered bullets. Randomly shooting at people. And kids.?

?Just saw a pic of my daughter helped out of Westgate in New York Times. God bless you. I'm forever indebted. I didn't know where she was.?

?Please go give blood. I'm begging you. If you'd seen what I saw you'd not think twice about it.?

?I still have dry blood in my hair. Not mine. It's of that little boy who was shot instead of my son...?

?Images of the day keep flashing in front of my eyes. Dead bodies, injured people, wailing, crying, scared.?

?Wide awake. My daughter has started running a fever. She still has shrapnel in her leg. Please go give blood to those who need it. Please?

?I still haven't told my children that their Ruhila Auntie is no more. I don't know how to. I can't. They're still in shock & wounded.?

?My son almost had his head blown off. Missed by an inch. Hit wall. Bounced & killed the little boy next to him.?

?I had a young lady who had fallen on me & she was calling her Dad to say goodbye & I love you. It broke my heart she had given up...?

?I've finally broken the news to the kids about their beloved Ruhila Auntie. My daughter's sobs will forever weigh on my soul.?

 

Shirley (@ShirleyGhetto)

?Im under the matresses!!!!! This might be my last tweet #Westgate mall. ?

?I love you guys.?

?OMG I was with kevin and he's at the parking. I'm safe in here but guys, pray for him guys, I think they took him!!?

?3 thugs are arguing about something. One of them is tryna convince two to surrender.?

?Its getting calm. Pray for us guys. #Westgate .Pray for Kevin.?

?When the first gunshot was fired, we ran into the mall instead of away. #Westgate?

?I don't care anymore. If they shoot let them come shoot.It doesn't even seem like we'll make it out anyway #Westgate?

?The cop who tried to save us, Thank you. I hope they didnt kill him.?

?Had mistaken this guys next to me as thugs. Thank God. #Westgate?

?Kenya police,Check the people leaving! I think some gunmen are escaping among them. Black shirts #Westgate?

?Some guy at the parking has been shot for his phone ringing. Please Do NOT call anyone. #Westgate?

?Is it safe to come out from hiding? Its quiet. Have the cops tackled the culprits? Please keep me updated. #Westgate?

?The lady hostage who was shot. I'm told she's a journalist. That scream was deafening. R.I.P #Westgate?

?Cop who scared away the gunmen to the parking lot. May God be with his soul. #westgate?

?How is it out there? Is the backup here yet? #Westgate?

?I feel like I'm ready for anything now. All the fear is gone #Westgate?

?No, I dont wanna die this young! . #Westgate?

?So this is how it feels like when you feel you might die the next minute. I think I'm ready to walk out now.?

?I can see the guys in green now. Should I or should I not show myself. The guys I was with just left.?

?I trust the guys in green. I think I'm gonna come out of hiding now. This feels like a movie.?

?I hope this won't be my last tweet.?

?I'm OK.?

?I made it out of the mall yesterday. The 2 guys I was in hiding with made it out too. Thank you all for the concern. God bless Kenya.?

?The cop who tried to lead us upstairs was sniped in the hip. No one knew

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/kenya-shopping-mall-attack-tweets-from-survivors-reveal-the-terror-8834246.html

[GeronL]

Apparently some news outlets refuse to label this Islamic Terror

wow

[apples]

Apparently some news outlets refuse to label this Islamic Terror

wow

Good grief. It never stops does it? Gotta protect the moderate muzzie line. 

[apples]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/10326548/Nairobi-shopping-mall-attack-siege-live.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24200990

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Group behind Kenya mall attack claims militants still holding out, while 3 soldiers killed

The Islamist militant group behind a deadly terror attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi says its fighters were still holding out despite claims by authorities that Kenyan security forces had regained control of the building.

The Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks, posted on its Twitter account Tuesday that ?There are countless number of dead bodies still scattered inside the mall, and the Mujahideen are still holding their ground.?

The group?s previous Twitter accounts had been shut down, according to Reuters.

That message was followed with a tweet that said "The hostages who were being held by the Mujahideen inside #Westgate are still alive,

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/24/kenya-official-says-several-americans-among-mall-attackers/