'All Muslims leave... we only want to kill non-Muslims': Gunmen massacre at least 30 and wound scores more including Americans in terror attack on upscale Kenyan mall used by Westerners
Security guards wheel out bodies in shopping trolleys from Westlands Shopping Centre
Foreign Secretary William Hague confirms British citizens are caught up in the terrorist attack in Nairobi
The US State Department has also confirmed Americans were at the shopping centre
Evidence suggests the Somalian terrorist group al-Shabaab, which has links to Al-Qaeda, may be to blame
The terrorist organisation released a statement released saying it warned Kenya to remove troops from Somalia
Hostages are being held by at least five attackers still in building
The army and special forces are helping police flush out the gunmen
Upmarket mall is a top shopping spot for expats and wealthy Kenyans
Police opened fire after gunmen launched attack at midday today
Armed gang believed to have been terrorists, police say
Kenya Red Cross says at least 25 dead though police not given exact toll
Witness says attackers told shoppers non-Muslims were the targets
Somali militant group al-Shabaab threatened to attack mall but no one yet claimed responsibility
Daily Mail UK, 21 September 2013
Escape: Women carrying children run for safety as armed police hunt gunmen who went on a shooting spree in Westgate shopping centre
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT:
Witnesses said armed police opened fire on gunmen at the exclusive Westgate centre shopping mall in the Westlands district of Nairobi, Kenya. Pictures show shoppers who were rescued alive from the mall by police, although dozens were injured - and the Kenya Red Cross says at least 15 were killed. An armed stand-off is still underway between police (pictured bottom left) and the attackers and officials say hostages have been taken in what they declare a terrorist attack, with one witness saying the gunmen opened fire with the words that they were targeting non-Muslims
Gunmen who opened fire at a shopping centre killing at least 25 and injuring dozens more today let muslims go free if they could prove they were Islamic.Witnesses caught up in the attack at Westlands Shopping Centre, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, said anyone who could recite a muslim prayer to their captors was allowed to leave unscathed.
But the attackers turned their guns on anyone who could not prove their Islamic credentials.
Sir Simon Fraser, the Foreign Office's chief civil servant and head of the Diplomatic Service, said on Twitter that Britons had been caught up in the incident.
He posted: '@foreignoffice (The Foreign Office) and @UKinKenya (British High Commission) working hard on Nairobi shooting and hostage crisis to help all involved esp Brits.'
This was later backed up by Foreign Secretary William Hague who said there were 'undoubtedly British nationals' caught up in the attack.
Sky News is reporting that the US State Department has confirmed US citizens are among the casualties.
Spree: Shots are still being heard in the mall as police and terrorists engage in a stand-off
Downing Street confirmed Prime Minister David Cameron had spoken to President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, this afternoon about the attack.
Kenyan police and soldiers have pinned down the remaining gunmen who opened fire at a shopping centre earlier today, killing 25 and leaving at least 50 others injured.
A security source at the scene in the capital Nairobi confirmed the attackers had been isolated.
The source said: 'The attackers have been isolated and are pinned down in an area on one of the floors - the rest of the mall seems to be secure.'
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is looking increasingly likely the Somalia terrorist group al-Shabaab may be responsible.
A statement released through its Twitter account said it warned Kenya to pull its troops out of Somalia.
However, the group has did not take responsibility for the attack.
One witness who was embroiled in the situation claimed that the gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave and that only non-Muslims would be targeted when they opened fire at the upmarket mall of the Westlands district around midday.
At least two dozen people, wounded and dead, were wheeled out on stretchers and in shopping trolleys by security guards, while others were seen walking out of the building, clutching bloodied clothing around their injuries.
Locals and tourists who were out shopping on the sunny Saturday in Kenya ran screaming from the building and cars were left abandoned as attackers threw grenades and fired AK47s.
Over the course of an hour people streamed from the building, at least half a dozen covered in blood and clutching small children to them.
The Kenya Red Cross Society now says that 25 have been reported dead and at least 50 wounded.
At least nine people were carried out of the building bleeding from wounds to their limbs and two others were wheeled unconscious from the scene in shopping trolleys.
A young boy is believed to have been among those killed.
Hunt: Armed police search customers taking cover inside a bathroom at the shopping centre
Gunfight: Police are still trying to escort people away from the site where fighting continues
Hostages: Police say armed men are still in the building and are holding prisoners
Deadly: Armed police search Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi for the last remaining gunmen
Search: Police scour the centre with guns to try and locate the terrorists still holding hostages
Shattered glass: A police officer tries to secure an area inside the Westgate Shopping Centre where gunmen went on a shooting spree in Nairobi
Shootout: Soldiers and armed police fire at the suspected terrorists as they try to wrest back control of the shopping centre
Special forces: The army and elite squads have now been drafted in to help police flush out the gunmen
Shootout: A police officer takes up position at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi
Rescue: A policeman carries a baby to safety on the barrel of his gun while a woman ducks for safety behind him
Stand-off: Soldiers are still searching in and around the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi after the supposed terrorist attack
At a news conference, Internal Security Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo said 'terrorists and threats have been present in Kenya for quite some time now'.
The army, including special forces, have now been drafted in to help police flush out the gunmen.
Kenya Red Cross Society Secretary General Abbas Guled said: 'The casualties are many, and that's only what we have on the outside. Inside there are even more casualties and shooting is still going on.'
There were unconfirmed reports of two large explosions, with several smaller explosions. Two people were reportedly injured on the road.
'We have officers at the scene trying to get out the group shooting inside. They have not been located,' a senior police official said.
'Officers are approaching the situation with caution because there are innocent civilians inside,' he said.
Armed police arrived on the scene nearly half an hour later and could be heard shouting 'get out, get out' as scores of shoppers fled the building.
Smoke billowed out of the entrance, which was believed to have been caused by the grenade attack.
Dutch embassy employee Rob Vandijk said he had been eating at a restaurant in the shopping mall when gunmen threw hand grenades inside the building.
People began to scream and drop to the ground, he said, as machine gun fire rang out across the busy mall.
Officials have not given the exact death toll as police and gunmen are continuing to exchange fire, but reporters said they had seen at least 15 bodies.
Police say that attackers are holding seven hostages in the building, and other people remain hidden inside.
'I saw three of the attackers dressed in black and with covered faces and they were carrying heavy rifles,' said another witness.
Kenyan soldiers were also deployed to take part in the operation to bring the shopping complex back under control.
Police helicopters circled over the building as sporadic gunfire could be heard more than two hours after the attack was launched.
Police cordoned off the roads surrounding the mall in central Nairobi's Westlands neighborhood.
Manish Turohit, 18, who escaped after hiding in the parking garage for two hours, says he saw gunmen with AK-47s and vests with hand grenades on them inside the centre.
Police initially believed the attack was an attempt by about ten armed men to rob a shop.
But Elijah Kamau, a witness, told AP that the gunmen had announced that they were targeting non-Muslims as they began their attack at the centre.
Some of those who escaped were 'challenged to recite a Muslim prayer
and were then let out', according to Allan Sayers, who contacted MailOnline and said he was in the Westgate mall five minutes before the attack.
Mr Sayers said people were still in text and phone contact with some of the hostages.
'There are still many hostages still inside and reports of many more dead,' he said.
Wounded: A security officer helps an injured woman away from the building
Injured: A security officer talks to his colleagues shortly after being helped from the scene having been wounded
Critical: A victim is wheeled into the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi for emergency treatment
Rescue: A woman is shipped to an ambulance in a shopping trolley by centre staff
Devastating: Injured people receive assistance from bypassers at the scene of the shooting
Family mall: Customers who had planned a Saturday of shopping were forced to run following a
shootout between unidentified armed men and the police
Emergency: A Red Cross assistant helps a child outside who was among those caught in the shooting
Now Nairobi police chief Benson Kibue has said it was a terrorist attack and the Kenya Ministry of Interior has said the shooting may have been an 'attack by terrorists'.
'They don't seem like thugs, this is not a robbery incident,' said Yukeh Mannasseh who was on the top floor when the shooting started.
'It seems like an attack. The guards who saw them said they were shooting indiscriminately.'
Somali's rebel group al-Shabab vowed in late 2011 to carry out a large-scale attack in Nairobi in retaliation for Kenya's sending of troops into Somalia to fight the Islamic insurgents.
The Somali militant group al-Shabaab had earlier threatened to strike the mall, as it is a popular destination for the city’s expatriate community.
However, no one has yet to claim responsibility for the assault.
One victim said that he had been shot by a man who appeared to be Somali, while others noted the gunmen were speaking in a foreign language.
'The gunmen tried to fire at my head but missed. There are definitely many casualties,' Sudjar Singh, who works at the shopping centre, told AFP.
'I saw three of the attackers dressed in black and with covered faces and they were carrying heavy rifles,' said another witness.
Errol Fernandes, a Kenyan businessman said: 'There were two guys – they came in from the car park on the roof. One had dreadlocks, he had an AK47 and was firing randomly.
'I just ran into the café kitchen and then we all hid in the refrigerator, until we were told to run out of the fire escape.
'I'm sure there must be many dead and injured.'
'The gunmen tried to fire at my head but missed. There are definitely many casualties,' Sudjar Singh, who works at the shopping centre, told AFP.
Escape: An injured man who managed to flee the attackers is treated by paramedics outside the shopping centre
Terrorist: Somali Islamist attacks are not uncommon in Kenya, although police have not confirmed the identity of the attackers
Horror: Customers are evacuated from the shopping centre covered in blood
Victim: Rescuers attempt to evacuate a man injured in a shootout
Killings: At least 15 people are believed to be dead, although police have not confirmed a death toll
Shock: Witnesses said a half dozen grenades went off along with volleys of gunfire that started at midday
'I saw three of the attackers dressed in black and with covered faces and they were carrying heavy rifles,' said another witness.
Kenyan soldiers were also deployed to take part in the operation to bring the shopping complex back under control.
Police helicopters circled over the building as sporadic gunfire could be heard more than two hours after the attack was launched.
Police cordoned off the roads surrounding the mall in central Nairobi's Westlands neighborhood.
Kenya’s interior minister said the mall shooting may be “an attack by terrorists.”
"It is a possibility that it is an attack by terrorists, so we are treating the matter very seriously," Mutea Iringo, the principal secretary in the Ministry of Interior told Reuters.
Asked if foreign security services were involved in the operation to flush out the attackers, he said, 'At this stage it has not become necessary yet.'
The picture above prompted a woman to contact MailOnline, saying the woman with the two children is her sister-in-law.
'These aren't all nameless individuals, these are real people and don't me and my family know it today,' she said.
'What the picture doesn't show is the gun shot wound she has just come out of surgery for.
'Brave woman who I am so proud to call my family.'
An AFPTV reporter said police and security guards were trying to secure a multi-screen cinema complex inside the mall where many had taken shelter.
The reporter said she saw at least 20 people rescued from a toy shop on one of the upper floors of the building.
A shop manager who managed to escape said it had appeared 'the shooters had taken control of all the mall'.
Attacks by Somali Islamists in Kenya often involve gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades, with targets including bars, nightclubs and restaurants in various parts of the country.
There was a suspected al-Shabaab attack which left five dead and three injured at a restaurant in the eastern city of Garissa in January, and in August last year one person was killed and six more were left injured in the Eastleigh area of Nairobi on the eve of a visit by Hillary Clinton, then the United States secretary of state.
Last month 18 of the 19 US embassies and consulates across the Middle East and Africa were closed after a message between al Qaida officials about plans for a major terror attack was intercepted.
The Foreign Office says it is 'urgently looking into' the incident and has echoed Kenyan police with warnings to Britons to avoid the area.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said: 'We are in close contact with the Kenyan authorities on the ground in Kenya and at ministerial level in the United Kingdom.
'The prime consideration at present is the welfare of members of the public caught up in this incident.'
Concerned British nationals are advised to monitor FCO travel advice and to contact 020 7008 0000.