Al Qaeda has taken responsibility for the ongoing terrorist attack that so far has resulted in the murders of at least 59 victims, with others still being held hostage by up to 15 terrorists. Nearly 200 have been wounded.
The attack began on Saturday with an armed attack on Nairobi’s upscale Westgate Mall. More than 1,000 have escaped, but Sky News reported Sunday that security forces have not been able to secure the second floor of the shopping center after clearing terrorists from the upper and lower levels.
Several American were injured, but none have been killed, according to the latest reports. Two Canadians, at least one of them a diplomat. were murdered by the Somalia-based al Shabaab terrorist organization, linked with Al Qaeda. A statement from al-Shabab on its official Twitter feed Saturday says the attacks are retribution for military action by Kenya inside Somalia.
One eyewitness told Sky News, “I witnessed a few people get up and say something in Arabic and the gunmen let them go. A colleague of mine said he was Muslim and recited something in Arabic and they let him go as well. I saw a lot of children and elderly people being shot dead.