UDPATE: Death toll rises to 68
UPDATE: Massive explosion reported at Kenya's Westgate Mall, far larger thabn any other explosion in last 30 hours
RIGHT NOW! MASSIVE EXPLOSION ROCKS KENYA'S WESTGATE MALL. FAR LARGER THAN ANY EXPLOSION IN LAST 30 HOURS. #911BUFF [3]
— Operator (@911BUFF) September 22, 2013 [4]
Kenyan President Kenyatta this morning confirmed his nation's unrelenting "war on terror" reflecting that they have dealt with terrorists before and will again. Urging nations not to issue travel warnings, he reassured a nation that the attackers (believed to be the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab) in the upscale (frequented by ex-pats) Mall "are cornered." The slaying of at least 59 people makes this one of the worst attacks in Kenya's history and as the dreadful images below show, the terrorists appeared to have no limits. As news breaks of the army readying a rescue mission and confirmation that "many" civilians are still trapped, the situation is fluid to say the least.
Reuters initial update from yesterday evening:
On Saturday, gunmen opened fire at a shopping mall popular with the Kenyan elite and foreign ex-patriots in Nairobi...
The latest death count is 59 with over 160 injured - women and children...
Despite major evacuations...
...many people remain in the mall 30 houres after the first shots...
The thousands of people hid and escaped by any means possible...
Security forces are pursuing two squads of gunmen...
Images: NYTimes [5]