At least 22 people are reported to be dead and more than 50 injured as a gun fight continues between police and armed men at a shopping centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
One witness claimed 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 today.
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 22 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.
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.
Source: Daily Mail UK
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