NAIROBI: At least 30 persons were killed and 60 others injured after a group of gunmen stormed a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Saturday, ordering all Muslims to leave the premises, as only non-Muslims would be targeted.
The gunfire broke out inside the Westgate Mall, located in Nairobi’s wealthy Westlands area, and spread outside after police arrived to confront the assailants.
The attackers had been trying to rob a shop within the mall when the shooting began, Nairobi police chief Benson Kibue said.
The sources said that shoppers were held hostage for about an hour before security forces arrived on the scene. Most of the people held hostage were freed, but according to reports, the assailants are still holding seven to 36 people.