Gunmen in Nairobi have opened fire inside one of the Kenyan city's smartest shopping centres in an apparent terror attack, with reports of at least 15 killed and dozens wounded.
The shooting began at the Westgate Shopping Mall at around lunchtime, and it was not immediately clear who was involved. The gunmen were thought to have taken seven people hostage, throwing grenades as they launched their attack.
A witness said that gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave and that non-Muslims would be targeted.
"I would say so far we have at least 15 dead. The casualties are many, and that's only what we have on the outside," Kenya Red Cross Society Secretary General Abbas Guled told the Reuters news agency.
Elijah Kamau told AP that attackers with AK-47s and grenades made the statement about Muslims as they began their attack.
Armed robberies in Kenya's capital are far from uncommon, but the country is also a target for attacks from Islamist terrorists crossing over from Somalia.
"I saw three of the attackers dressed in black and with covered faces and they were carrying heavy rifles," said a witness and survivor who identified herself as Annette.
"They don't seem like thugs, this is not a robbery incident," said Yukeh Mannasseh who was on the mall's top floor when the shooting started. "It seems like an attack. The guards who saw them said they were shooting indiscriminately."
A young boy was lying on the ground by the supermarket. At least nine people were being carried out of the building with wounds to their legs, feet or arms. Two others were wheeled unconscious from the scene in shopping trolleys.
People crawl to safety outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya (AP)
Ye Lihui, a Chinese businessman, was on the third floor. He told The Telegraph: "There were two guys, they had AK47s, they were not far from me.
"They were dressed in normal clothes. They had something like a small bomb, maybe a grenade, and I watched one throw it into where many people were.
"I didn't see where it landed but the explosion was so loud. I ran out."
Errol Fernandes, a Kenyan businessman said: "There were two guys – they came in from the car park on the roof. One had dreadlocks, he had an AK47 and was firing randomly.
"I just ran into the café kitchen and then we all hid in the refrigerator, until we were told to run out of the fire escape.
"I'm sure there must be many dead and injured."
Dozens of people were fleeing in waves from a side entrance to the mall, many clearly very distressed.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the incident at the Westgate Mall shopping centre, and we are urgently looking into it.
"We stand ready to provide consular assistance if there are any British nationals involved."
The Foreign Office updated the travel advice on its website to say: "British nationals should avoid the area".
Customers evacuate following a shootout between unidentified armed men and the police at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi (REUTERS)
There were unconfirmed reports of two large explosions, with several smaller explosions. Two people were reportedly injured on the road.
"We have officers at the scene trying to get out the group shooting inside. They have not been located," a senior police official told AFP.
"Officers are approaching the situation with caution because there are innocent civilians inside," he said.
One woman on the first floor of the shopping centre told The Telegraphthat gunfire was still being heard around the mall, and had been heard for over 20 minutes, all on the ground floor.
She said that shops were locked up, with staff taking cover inside the stores with customers. She added that there were "several explosions," then the gunfire started.
George Mirara, a waiter at a café on the second floor, said: "It was very sudden, like some shouting then gunfire, so many shots, again and again.
"We all ran, into the kitchen and stayed there, it was all so loud."
People outside the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi
Situated in the upmarket suburb of Westlands, close to the city centre, people travel to the mall and its surrounding area for its restaurants, shopping, bars and clubs.
Shops include a very large Nakumatt supermarket, situated alongside banks including Barclays, clothing stores, a cinema, and a food court upstairs with tapas and sushi restaurants.
The mall is very popular with expats and middle-class Kenyans, and hosts a mixture of local shops and Western brands such as adidas and Converse.
There have been repeated warnings over the last couple of years that it could attract terrorists wanting to stage a dramatic attack.
According to confidential documents seen by The Telegraph, the United Nations – which has a large regional operation in Kenya – warned in August that the threat of an "attempted large-scale [terror] attack" in the country was "elevated".
Nairobi was sunny on Saturday morning, with the streets surrounding the mall full of locals and tourists.
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