Somalia based Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for mall attack in Kenya that killed 30 and injured 50, Non-Muslims targeted

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(CNN) — The death toll grew to 30 people in Saturday’s attack by gunmen on an upscale shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, leading to a fierce gunbattle with police and a hostage standoff, authorities said.
Several hours after the attack, Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant group based in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.
“The Mujahideen entered #WestgateMall today at around noon and are still inside the mall,” the Islamic extremist group said on its Twitter account.
One suspect was killed, said a Kenyan official who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information. There were also 100 people injured, the official said.
Americans were among those injured, but the majority of casualties are Kenyan, authorities said.
Another suspected gunman is in the hospital and is being detained by authorities, said national police on its Twitter account.
Authorities say as many as 36 hostages are still being held by the gunmen in the mall, according to journalist Martin Cuddihy of the Australian Broadcasting Corp., who was at the scene and interviewed by CNN.

Associated Press

The Westgate mall, with shops like Nike, Adidas and Bose, has Israeli ownership, and security personnel have in the past identified the mall as a likely terror target in the city.

Elijah Kamau, who was at the mall at the time of the midday attack, said that the gunmen made a declaration that non-Muslims would be targeted.

“The gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave. They were safe, and non-Muslims would be targeted,” he said.

Jay Patel, who sought cover on an upper floor in the mall when shooting began, said that when he looked out of a window onto the upper parking deck of the mall he saw the gunmen with a group of people.