Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group claims responsibility for deadly Kenya mall attack
Published September 21, 2013
FoxNews.com
Kenya shooting: At least one gunman in custody
Red Cross: 22 killed in shooting in Kenya
The Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack targeting non-Muslims at an upscale mall in Kenya's capital.
A statement from al-Shabab on its official Twitter feed Saturday says the attacks, which killed at least 30, are retribution for military action by Kenya inside Somalia. The group said it was now shifting the battlefield to Kenya.
Witnesses say the gunmen asked victims they had cornered if they were Muslim: If the answer was yes, several witnesses said, those people were free to go. The non-Muslims were not.
The group said its fighters entered Nairobi's upscale Westgate Mall at around noon and were still inside more than nine hours later. Kenyan military special forces had entered the mall in an effort to end the standoff.
Officials fear the death toll could rise further. As night fell in East Africa's commercial capital, hostages remained inside the mall, but officials didn't or couldn't say how many. Two groups of army special forces troops had moved inside as the stand-off stretched into its ninth hour.
Police and military surrounded the huge complex as helicopters buzzed overhead. An Associated Press reporter said he saw a wounded Kenyan soldier put into an ambulance at nightfall, an indication, perhaps, of a final shoot-out inside.
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