Massacre mall ablaze after Islamic terrorists 'blew themselves up': Fierce gunfire heard inside Kenyan shopping centre where militants were holding dozens of hostages
• Westgate Shopping Centre on fire amid fears that terrorists have carried out suicide bomb attack
• Architect Ross Langdon, who had dual Australian and British nationality, is confirmed among the dead
• His Harvard-educated girlfriend Elif Yavuz was also killed. She was two weeks away from giving birth
• Foreign Office confirmed on Monday that four Britons have been killed in the atrocity
• Kenyan government says two militants have died in battle to retake the building
• Claims that five of the attackers are American and two are British
• Kenyan military official says terrorists are a 'multinational collection from all over the world'
• Al Shabaab militants today said they would kill the remaining hostages inside the Westgate Shopping Centre
• Kenyan official reveals he suspects the involvement of fugitive 7/7 'white widow' Samantha Lewthwaite
• Men, women and children slaughtered if they could not recite Koran or name Prophet Mohammed's mother
• Terrorists told French citizen 'they want to kill Kenyans and Americans'
Kenyan special forces were today locked in a fight to the death with Islamic terrorists who have been barricaded inside a Nairobi mall with up to 40 hostages since Saturday.
Witnesses described hearing four large explosions at the Westgate Shopping Centre followed by fierce gun fire after the military tried to break the three day siege by gaining access from the roof.
It is feared that some of the gunmen inside may have blown themselves up, though a Kenyan government minister said that militants had set fire to some mattresses in a supermarket as a decoy.
Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said that two of the terrorists had been killed and that most hostages were now free. All of the militants were men, he added, although some were dressed as women.
So far, 69 people have been confirmed dead including four Britons. At least 175 were injured, including children.
Thick clouds of dense black smoke billowed from the complex after a series of loud explosions and heavy gunfire.
The area around the mall was teeming with Kenyan soldiers and armoured personnel carriers, as emergency workers and reporters were told to take cover.
A top military official said he believes the attackers are 'a multinational collection from all over the world.'
Kenya Chief of Defence forces General Julius Karangi said fighters from an array of nations participated in the attack claimed by Al Shabaab, a Somali group allies with al-Qaida.
'We have an idea who they are, their nationality and even the number. We are fighting global terrorism here and we have sufficient intel (intelligence) to suggest that.'
A Twitter account claiming to represent Al Shabaab yesterday claimed that terrorists from seven nations are involved in the attack, including the U.S., Britain and Canada.
The HSM Press Office account, which has been suspended twice, claimed the group were Ahmed Nasir Shirdoon, 24, from London, UK; Gen Mustafe Noorduiin, 27, from Kansas City, U.S., Abdifatah Osman Keenadiid, 24, from Minneapolis, U.S., and Ahmed Mohamad Isse, 22, from Saint Paul, U.S; Ismael Guled, 23, from Finland; Abdirizak Mouled, 24, from Ontario, Canada; and Zaki Jama Caraale, 20, and Sayid Nuh, 25, both from Somalia.
Police chief David Kimaiyo said today that some hostages have been freed. However, a group claiming to represent the Al Shabaab terrorists said they are still fighting inside the building.
In a message on Twitter Mr Kimaiyo wrote: 'Thumbs up to our multi-agency team, we have just managed to rescue some hostages. We're increasingly gaining advantage of the attackers.'
The HSM Press Office account, which has been suspended twice and claims to have contact with the terrorists inside, wrote today: 'They’ve obtained large amounts of ammunition and are, by the blessings of Allah alone, still firm and still dominating the show #Westgate.'
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