© Jonathan Kalan/AP Civilians who had been hiding in the Westgate mall in Nairobi are led to safety by armed police.
By Monday evening, Kenyan security forces said they controlled much of the Westgate Premier Shopping Mall, although several militants from al-Shabab, a group allied with al-Qaeda, appeared dug in, determined to fight to the death.
With the standoff apparently drawing to a close after three days, there was a growing focus on the identity of the militants and how they could pull off a sophisticated assault that killed at least 62 people and kept security forces at bay for three days. Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said Monday that "two or three Americans" and "one Brit" were among the perpetrators of the attack.
She said in an interview with "PBS Newshour" that the Americans were 18 to 19 years old, of Somali or Arab origin and lived "in Minnesota and one other place" in the United States. The British jihadist was a woman who has "done this many times before," Mohamed said.
U.S. officials said Monday that they were pressing to determine whether any of the assailants were American.
"But at this point we have no definitive evidence of the nationalities or identities of the perpetrators," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Al-Shabab is a Somali militia. But Gen. Julius Karangi, chief of the Kenya Defense Forces, told reporters that the militants inside the mall were "clearly a multinational collection from all over the world" - though he did not offer details. "We are fighting global terrorism here," Karangi said.
Neither Mohamed nor Karangi offered specifics about the basis of their assertions.
Stepped-up operations
On Monday, Kenyan security forces, assisted by American, European and Israeli advisers, intensified operations to end the crisis.
Police helicopters hovered over the mall. At midday, loud explosions and sporadic bursts of gunfire could be heard emanating from the shopping center. By late afternoon, large plumes of smoke were rising from the area. A senior Interior Ministry official, Joseph Ole Lenku, said the militants had set fire to one of the shops in the mall, the Nakumatt supermarket, as a tactical diversion.
Many Kenyans have questioned why it has taken so long to end the siege. Senior Kenyan government officials have said that security forces were being cautious to prevent any more civilian deaths. On Monday morning, a spokesman for al-Shabab reportedly threatened to execute hostages if security forces stormed the mall. "The mujahideen will kill the hostages if the enemies use force," Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said in an audio statement posted online.
The death toll released by the government stood at 62 civilians, with more than 175 injured. It was the deadliest attack in Kenya since the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. An earlier figure of 69 deaths, provided by the Kenyan Red Cross, was revised downward. Sixty-three people were missing, according to the Red Cross, suggesting that the militants still held hostages inside the mall. Kenyan officials said 10 bodies had been pulled out of the mall over the previous 24 hours but did not give details.
Al-Shabab has said the carnage was in retaliation for Kenya sending troops to fight in Somalia, where they remain a key defense for the Western-backed Mogadishu government against the militia.
Lenku, the Interior Ministry official, said that "almost all of the hostages have been evacuated," and officials said three of the estimated 10 to 15 militants were killed in the standoff. Ten people in Kenya have been detained in connection with the investigation, officials said.
Ten members of the security forces were injured. "Our resolve to defend our country has never been higher," Lenku said.
But late Monday night, al-Shabab used Twitter to dispute the government's assertion that it had seized control of all the floors in the mall. "Our Mujahideen are in full control of #westgate. May Allah bless them," the militia said. Attached to the tweet was a photo showing armed fighters in black head scarves patrolling the top floor of the mall, but it was not clear when the picture was taken.
On Sunday, Twitter postings purportedly from al-Shabab described several of the jihadists as American. But the militant group said Monday - on a different Twitter handle, verified by the SITE Monitoring Service, which tracks statements by extremist groups - that it had not sent the earlier messages. Nor had it released the names or any other details about the attackers, it said.
Western concerns
President Obama said Monday that the United States stood with Kenya's leadership "against this terrible outrage that's occurred."
"We will provide them with whatever law enforcement help that is necessary," he said
The U.S. government is contributing "technical support and some equipment to assist Kenyan security forces" in responding to the attack, a State Department official said Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The department said American military personnel based at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi have been helping the Kenyans.
George Little, a Pentagon spokesman, said no U.S. troops have been sent to Kenya to provide assistance.
The involvement of the United States, Israel and other countries underscores the West's concerns about al-Shabab's reach. Numerous foreigners have joined the militia, Arabic for "The Youth." Several dozen Americans, many of Somali origin, are among the foreign recruits, according to counterterrorism analysts.
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