Gunmen Kill 68 in Kenya Mall Attack

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Gunmen opened fire at an upscale Nairobi mall Saturday, killing at least 68 and wounding 175. The city’s police chief Benson Kibue told the Associated Press that it was likely an act of terrorism, with no more than 10 attackers involved. After the gunmen burst into the Westgate mall, which is situated in an affluent neighborhood and popular among expatriates, they began to shoot indiscriminately and take hostages.

The attackers did, however, assert that non-Muslims were being targeted. Witness Elijah Kamau told the AP that the gunmen, who were toting AK-47s and hand grenades, announced that Muslims were safe and should stand up and leave.

Around 5 p.m. local time, the Kenyan Red Cross began reporting on Twitter that some hostages were being evacuated:

Early Sunday morning, about 12 hours after the attack began, several gunmen remained inside the mall with an unknown number of hostages.

Initial suspicions suggested that the al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab was behind the attack, which Al Jazeera later confirmed: