Somali militant group al-Shabab claims responsibility for deadly shopping centre attack in Kenya

The Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for this morning’s deadly attack on a shopping centre in neighbouring Kenya that left 39 people dead and more than 150 injured.



Eyewitnesses report that gunmen entered a shopping mall in the upscale community of Westgate and instructed all Muslims to leave before tossing grenades and opening fire with high-powered rifles.



Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta noted in a national broadcast that members of his family were among those killed and says members of the security forces are in the process of neutralising the attackers and securing the mall.



Mr Kenyatta also sought to assure the country that those responsible for the attack will be held punished.



But in a message posted on the social media network Twitter, Al-Shabad boasted that it was responsible for what it called the Westgate spectacle.



Al-Shabab, which has links to the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda, says the attack was in response to Kenya's presence in Somalia.



There are approximately 4 thousand Kenyan troops in southern Somalia, where they have been fighting the militants since 2011.



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