Heavy burst of gunfire heard from besieged Nairobi mall after Kenyan Ministry ... - India Today

A heavy burst of gunfire was heard from the Kenyan shopping mall in Nairobi where at least 62 people were killed in an attack by the Somali Al Shabaab group, suggesting that the complex had not yet been secured, a Reuters witness said on Tuesday.

Kenya's Interior Ministry had said early on Tuesday that its forces were "in control" of the mall and had freed all hostages.

There was an eerie silence outside the mall after a day in which gunfire and explosions were heard in the Westgate mall. A trickle of survivors escaped the building throughout the day on Monday, but the fate of people listed as missing was unclear.

Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which began at lunchtime on Saturday. Kenyan officials say there were 10 to 15 attackers.

President Barack Obama offered US support, saying he believed Kenya - the scene of one of Al Qaeda's first major attacks, in 1998, and a neighbour of chaotic Somalia - would continue to be a regional pillar of stability.

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Kenyan security forces believed the end was in sight for the siege at the upmarket shopping mall in the capital, saying its forces were "in control" as the ordeal entered its fourth day.

A government official said there was no resistance from the attackers late on Monday night after a barrage of gunfire and blasts throughout the day, but that the security forces were cautious in case some attackers were hiding in the building.

"Our forces are combing the mall floor by floor looking for anyone left behind. We believe all hostages have been released," the Ministry of Interior said on Twitter.

Patronised by well-to-do Kenyans and expatriates, Westgate mall epitomised the African consumer bonanza that is drawing foreign investment - from West and East - to one of the world's fastest growing regions.

Al Qaeda killed more than 200 people when it bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998. When fighters from its Somali ideological counterpart stormed the mall on Saturday, they hit a high-profile symbol of Kenya's economic power.