Gunmen Open Fire in Nairobi Shopping Centre

At least 15 people have reportedly been killed in a suspected terrorist attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Gunmen opened fire and detonated grenades inside the Westgate centre, a mall popular with expatriates.
Police chief Benson Kibue described the incident as a terrorist attack, telling the AP news agency up to 10 men exchanged gunfire with police.

Cars and shopping trollies were left abandoned outside the mall

Abbas Guled, of the Kenya Red Cross, told Reuters at least 15 people had been killed.
"The casualties are many and that's only what we have on the outside," he said. "Inside there are even more casualties and shooting is still going on."
Abdi Osman Adan, a journalist in Nairobi, told Sky News staff at a supermarket and a jewellery store had reportedly been taken hostage.

An ambulance arrives as a woman flees from the shopping centre

Witnesses reported seeing the attackers "firing at any police officers who tried to approach the building", he said.
The Somali militant group al Shabaab had previously threatened to attack the mall, although there was no immediate claim of responsibility from any group.
Rob Vandijk, who works at the Dutch embassy, said he was eating at a restaurant inside the mall when the attackers threw hand grenades inside the building.

Shoppers leave the mall, which is situated in an affluent area of Nairobi

He said he heard gunfire and people screaming as they dropped to the ground.
Satpal Singh, who was in a cafe when the attackers struck, ran downstairs and was shot near the main exit of the mall.

"A Somali guy shot at me," he said. "The guy who shot me was carrying a rifle, an AK-47."
Another witness, who gave only his first name, Jay, said: "They were not speaking Swahili. They spoke something that seemed like Arabic or Somali."
In a message posted on Twitter, Kenya Police urged the public "to remain calm" and not to speculate about the attack.

"We urge you to stay away (from the mall)," they added.
Westgate is situated in western Nairobi and is popular with both foreigners and rich Kenyans.
According to the centre's website, it is the city's "premier shopping mall" and offers a "serene and safe enviornment away from the city centre hubbub".

It has more than 80 stores and features a waterfall with tropical gardens.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office advised British nationals to avoid the mall and the surrounding Westlands district.

From Sky News