Blasts Shake Nairobi Mall; Many Hostages Rescued; 68 Dead
Powerful explosions sent thick smoke billowing from the Nairobi mall where militants from Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group threatened to kill hostages on the third day of a raid in which at least 59 have already died.
The blast was followed by other smaller detonations and volleys of gunfire but there was no indication of the fate of people whom the authorities say are being held by 10 to 15 Islamist gunmen who took the complex by storm on Saturday.
As troops ran into new positions, one security official told Reuters at the scene: “It is us who caused the explosion, we are trying to get in through the roof.” He declined to be named.
Military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna declined comment when asked whether security forces had set off the detonations or whether militants had set off explosives inside the building.
A plume of oily black smoke was still pouring from the building after half an hour.
A senior officer had said police were “closing in” on the militants after rescuing more trapped people overnight. But officials have been suggesting since Sunday that the siege may be near an end, while the guerrillas seemingly remain at large.
UPDATE, 7:45pmEST Sunday: Some positive news at last.
Kenyan security forces have rescued most of the hostages held by militants in a Nairobi shopping mall after a terror attack, a military official said late Sunday.
The Kenyan military spokesman said on Twitter that by 11 p.m., “Most of the hostages have been rescued and security forces have taken control of most parts of the building.”
By late Sunday, the death toll in Saturday’s attack on shoppers and workers in the upscale mall had risen to 68, including many children, and 175 wounded, according to the Kenya Red Cross Society.
The society said earlier Sunday that 49 people remained missing, some of them presumed held hostage by members of the Somalian militant group the Shabab, which has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Kenyan officials said on Twitter that four Kenyan soldiers had been wounded rescuing the hostages.
As of Sunday morning, a day after the attacks, the numbers had gotten worse. And the chaos hasn’t abated, as hostages remain inside the mall. These are the numbers a day after gunmen sprayed a Naibobi mall with bullets.
By noon Sunday, as grim-faced Kenyan soldiers warily searched the five-story building — and as al-Shabaab maintained its defiant stance — the siege was no closer to a resolution.
Kenyan government and Western diplomatic sources said al Shabaab militants were holding about 30 hostages inside the shopping center.
Officials believe 10 to 15 gunmen are involved, State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said Sunday.
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