UPDATE 9/22 2:53PM EST
An operation is in motion as the death toll has risen to 68.
NY Daily News reports:
The standoff continues as officials said an operation to end the terrorist siege “tonight” has begun. The death toll from a grenade-and-gunfire siege a day earlier also rose to 68, with at least 175 wounded.
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Yesterday, tragedy struck Nairobi, Kenya as 59 were left dead, including children, and the wife of a diplomat working for the U.S. Agency for International Development. As many 175 have been wounded in the shooting at an upscale mall.
According to reports, multiple barrages of gunfire erupted Sunday morning from inside the building where hostages were being held by militants. Radicals attacked the shopping mall Saturday and remained inside throughout the night.
Ten to 15 hostages are STILL being held inside the mall stormed by the armed Islamic extremists that are reported to be linked to the Al Queda. YES the Al Queda.
Huffington Post reports:
Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked rebel group, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack in which they used grenades and assault rifles and specifically targeted non-Muslims. The rebels said the attack was retribution for Kenyan forces’ 2011 push into Somalia and threatened more attacks.
SMFH!
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters at the mall that he has been told officials couldn’t determine the exact number of hostages inside the mall. He says:
“There are quite a number of people still being held hostage on the third floor and the basement area where the terrorists are still in charge,”
Photos have been flooding social networks, and the scene is horrifying and heartbreaking to say the least. With caution check them out below.
Developing…
SOURCE: Huffington Post
