Gunfire was heard on Sunday and the Kenyan government, which raised the death toll from 39 overnight, said it had evacuated more than 1,000 people. It would not say how many hostages were still in the mall but believed there were 10 to 15 attackers. The Somali Islamist group-Shabaab claimed responsibilty for the attack on the Kenyan capital's Westgate mall, which is frequented by westerners as well as Kenyans. Several foreigners, including a Canadian diplomat, were among the dead. Shortly after the shots were fired, trrops in camouflage ran crouching below a restaurant terrace along the front of the building that had been buzzing with customers when assailants charged in. One witness said they first told Muslim to leave. For hours after the brazen attack, the dead were strewn around tables of unfinished meals. At one burger restaurant, a man and woman lay in a final embrace after they had been killed, before their bodies were removed. Pop music was left playing.
Scores of Kenyans gathered at a site overlooking the mall, awaiting what they expected to be a violent denouement. They enterd through blood, that's how they'll leave, said Jonathan Maungo, a private security guard. The assault was the biggest single attack in Kenya since al-Qaeda's East Africa cell bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people. In 2002, the same militant cell attacked an Israeli-owned hotel on the coast and tried to shoot down an Israeli jet in a coordinated strike. Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku told reporters security forces were doing everything they could to rescue hostages still inside the mall. Security forces have been combing through the mall, clearing the floors. The dead included children, and the wounded ranged in age from 2 to 78.Many victims were at a children's cooking competition when assailants opened fire on them, witnessed said. Witnes Elijah Kamau told that the gunnen about Muslims to stand up and leave and that non-Muslims would be targeted. The gunmen threw grenades and then opened fire, sending shoppers and staff fleeing for their lives.