Archive:BBC/Nairobi siege—What we know

At least 68 people have been killed and 175 injured in an attack by militants on a shopping centre in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

People managed to escape amid chaotic scenes with the al-Shabab militants holding hostages in a supermarket.

The multi-storey upmarket Westgate centre, owned by an Israeli businessman, has restaurants, cafes, banks, a large supermarket and a cinema.

Shots fired

Westgate was packed with shoppers and people sitting down to lunch on Saturday.

On the second floor of the three-story building, near the roof car park, a cooking competition for about 50 preschool-aged children was also under way.

Witnesses sitting outside ArtCaffe on the ground floor said that a group of people armed with assault weapons and dressed in black drove up by the main entrance at about noon (09:00 GMT).

Their exact number is not clear - it is estimated there were between six and 16 - some witnesses say they were masked others describe them as wearing bandanas or with scarves over their faces.

Eyewitnesses saw armed men in black, their heads covered in scarves, entering the Westgate shopping centre on Saturday afternoon

They threw grenades and fired shots. Some people were killed outside the building before the gunmen stormed the mall through the main entrance.

"There was shooting on the ground floor and slowly slowly they were going up and up," a survivor said after escaping.

It is not clear if the militants all entered through the main entrance.

Surajit Borkakoty was having a coffee with his wife on the second floor, where there is a food court, when he heard continuous shooting coming from the floors below.

He said he and his wife ran out of the cafe towards the second floor car park - but someone started firing on the rooftop too, so they ran back to the cafe to hide in the kitchens.

Police arrive

At first the shootout was believed to be a robbery. Police took about half an hour to arrive at the scene. There is a police station nearby, but the midday traffic was heavy.

As people escaped from the mall doubt was raised about reports that the incident was a robbery.

Police and security forces surrounded the Westgate centre Witnesses trapped inside said the gunshots were continuous and people desperately began looking for hiding places, where many stayed for hours.

Hannah Chisholm told the BBC she was at the checkout in the mall's main supermarket when the firing began: "We kept running to places but the shots were getting louder, so we managed to run to a large storeroom where the doors were barricaded."

"We hid in boxes and we tried to escape when they said it was safe, we almost made it to the door when they started firing again so we ran back up."

Shopping trolleys were reportedly used by security guards to wheel out several of the wounded, including children.

Security forces begin sweep

About an hour into the siege, the security forces entered the building. They moved through the mall - checking each business for people hiding and searching for gunmen.

"It seemed like everywhere you went, there were more people who just appeared out of the woodwork," said New York Times photographer Tyler Hicks, who accompanied police for a couple of hours.

He said some dead bodies could be seen lying on the floor, but he did not see any of the attackers.

Footage from inside the mall shows the aftermath of the shootout

As police swept through the aisles of the supermarket, they fired into the ceiling believing militants might be using the ventilation system.

By this time special forces and army soldiers had also arrived at the shopping centre to join the police operation.

A helicopter and armoured vehicles were at the scene. Police told media to stop broadcasting from the scene, as information could be aiding the attackers.

One of the gunmen was reportedly shot dead by police inside the building.

Muslims spared

As people were rescued, more details emerged about the attackers.

It seemed that they were keeping some people hostage.

One witness told the AFP news agency that the gunmen spoke a foreign language, possibly Arabic or Somali. Another eyewitness said the attackers ordered all Muslims to leave the mall.

Arjen Westra said he escaped from the mall after he heard gunfire and screaming

"The gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave. They were safe, and non-Muslims would be targeted,'' Elijah Kamau told AP.

British journalist Daniel Howden at Westgate told the BBC that one witness explained how he was released by the attackers after showing his ID with a Muslim-sounding name.

An Indian man who was standing next to him was asked for the name of the Prophet's mother and when he was unable to answer, he was shot dead, the witness told him.

Some of the attackers were reportedly dressed in hijabs, but it was unclear whether they were men or women.

One man reported seeing a man who spoke Arabic change his clothes then leave the shopping centre amongst other people being rescued.

Al-Shabab claims responsibility

By early evening suspicion for the attack was pointed at the Somali al-Shabab militant group, which has threatened Kenya before for sending troops to Somalia.

Then at about 18:00 GMT, 21:00 local time, an al-Shabab Twitter account, which has subsequently been shut down, tweeted: "The Mujahideen entered #Westgate Mall today at around noon and are still inside the mall, fighting the #Kenyan Kuffar (infidels) inside their own turf."

At 23:00 local time Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the nation, saying at least 39 people had been killed - including some of his own family.

He urged Kenyans to stay calm and remain vigilant: "We have overcome terrorist attacks before. We will defeat them again."

The police also said that the remaining militants were believed to be barricaded inside the supermarket, which covers two floors.

Rescue operation
Sporadic shooting was heard over night and by Sunday morning it was still not clear how many hostages were still inside the mall.

The police asked members of the public for information about people trapped in the building.

Bursts of gunfire continued to be heard. Four people were rescued in the morning and two soldiers were evacuated with injuries and troop reinforcements kept arriving.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse: "It is in this supermarket that at least some of the attackers are now believed to be holed up"

Interior Minister Joe Lenku said that by midday - 24 hours after the siege began - about 1,000 people had been rescued and 59 people killed.

He said between 10 and 15 militants remained barricaded in the mall but the security forces had control of the CCTV room.

The Israeli military intelligence analysis website Debkafile said Israeli security men are assisting the military operation - an AFP source later said that Israeli armed men had entered the building.

More details come out of those who have died in the attack, including confirmation that three British nationals were among those killed. By Sunday evening the death toll had reached 68, the Red Cross said.

As darkness fell, increased gunfire was reported from the mall - ambulances have been seen arriving and leaving the scene.

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