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Death Toll In Kenya Mall Attack Rises To 59, Minister
A woman (C) is escorted after being evacuated from the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi September 22, 2013. Kenyan security forces were locked in a stand-off on Sunday with gunmen who killed at least 59 people at the upmarket shopping center. PHOTO BY REUTERS.
22/09/2013
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The death toll in an attack on a upmarket mall in Kenya has risen to 59 people and the security forces are doing everything they can to ensure hostages inside come out safely, the interior minister said on Sunday, a day after the assault by gunmen.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said he himself had lost close relatives in Saturday's mass shooting in a Nairobi shopping mall.
Addressing the relatives of victims, a sombre Kenyatta said in an address to the nation: "I ask God to give you comfort as you confront this tragedy, and I know what you feel, having also lost very close family members in this attack."
Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku told reporters, that the government believed there were 10 to 15 attackers, saying they were investigating their identity but would not give details.
The Somali Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack on the Kenyan capital's Westgate mall, which is frequented by Westerners as well as Kenyans. Several foreigners, including a Canadian diplomat, were among the dead.
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