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Westgate death toll falls to 62

Published:Tuesday | September 24, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Kenyan security personnel and journalists duck behind a vehicle as heavy gunfire erupts from the Westgate Mall in Nairobi Kenya yesterday. Multiple large blasts have rocked the mall where a hostage siege is in its third day. AP

NAIROBI (AP):

Four thunderous explosions rattled Nairobi's upscale mall yesterday, part of a battle between Kenyan troops and al-Qaida-linked terrorists. Top Kenyan officials said two hostage takers, part of "a multinational collection from all over the world", had been killed.

Kenya's interior minister said the evacuation of hostages "went very well".

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku also revised the death toll to 62. Kenyan officials earlier said 59 people have died since the siege on Westgate Mall began on Saturday, while the Red Cross had put the toll at 68, then in a tweet lowered it to 62, saying some bodies had been counted twice.

Kenya Chief of Defence forces General Julius Karangi said fighters from an array of nations participated in the attack claimed by al-Shabab, a Somali group allied with al-Qaida.