Black smoke rose Monday afternoon over the besieged mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where security forces have been in a standoff with terrorists.
Gunshots also were heard outside the Westgate Shopping Mall about 1:20 p.m. Nairobi time, but it was not clear whether the siege, in its third day, was nearing an end.
Kenyan authorities claimed earlier Monday that they had made progress against terrorists inside the mall, where at least 69 people have died.
Terrorists from the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab group were believed to have about 10 remaining hostages on one level of the mall, security officials said. Other mall levels had been cleared Monday.
“All efforts are underway to bring this matter to a speedy conclusion,” the Kenyan military said on Twitter about 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Nairobi time (4:30 p.m. ET). Another tweet said that “most of the hostages have been rescued and security forces have taken control of most parts of the building.”
Source: CNN
