Kenya: Bodies Recovered From Westgate Mall

Some of the bodies found in the wreckage have been burned beyond recognition - and it is not clear if they are all victims.

Parts of the shopping complex have been completely wrecked

Police have recovered a number of bodies from the wreckage of the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi following the attack by Islamists, who have threatened to step up their action against Kenya.

As many as nine bodies were retrieved from the rubble of the mall, some burned beyond recognition.

A senior police source said: "Some of the bodies ... need DNA testing to get them properly identified, some are badly damaged."

The authorities say that apart from the attackers, 67 people - 61 civilians and six Kenyan soldiers - were killed in the terrorist attack that began on September 21. The Red Cross says a further 39 are still missing.

The mall is in ruins after the blasts

Part of the rooftop car park collapsed after a series of large explosions and an intense fire, leaving the area where the insurgents are thought to have made their final stand buried under tonnes of concrete slabs and rubble.

Kenyan officials said five of the attackers, who were thought to be members of the Somali-based al Shabaab group, were killed in the four-day siege by security forces. It is not clear if any of their bodies have been recovered.

 Families of those missing have been called to Nairobi's central mortuary to provide DNA samples to help identify the unclaimed bodies.

Mourners pay their respects to victims of the attack

Al Shabaab issued its threat to carry out more attacks on Kenya after the government refused to pull its troops out of Somalia.

The al Qaeda-linked group said in a statement: "We will strike Kenyans where it hurts the most, turn their cities into graveyards and rivers of blood will flow in Nairobi.

"The Kenyan government's decision to keep its invading force in Somalia is an indication that they haven't yet learnt any valuable lessons from the Westgate attacks."

President Kenyatta: 'We will not be intimidated'

 

The extremists warned that Kenya was "inviting unprecedented levels of insecurity, bloodshed and destruction".

Kenya and Somali government forces moved into southern Somalia to attack al Shabaab bases two years ago, and Kenyan troops later joined the 17,700-strong African Union force deployed in the country.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Tuesday troops sent to neighbouring Somalia to help restore order would not leave until the job was done.

"We will not be intimated, we will not be cowed," Mr Kenyatta said. "We will stay there until they bring order to their nation."

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