WASHINGTON (AFP) – Five Americans were among those wounded when Somali militants stormed a Nairobi shopping mall, according to a statement by the U.S. State Department on Sunday.
“A number of American citizens were present in Westgate Shopping Mall at the time of the attack. Five American citizens are among the injured, but we have no reports of any American deaths,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
Kenyan troops launched an assault Sunday to end the more than 30-hour siege by Somali militants, with police warning that the death toll of 68 people could rise “much higher.”
Officials estimate some 200 people were wounded in the attack, which began midday Saturday when gunmen fell upon the packed center, throwing grenades, shooting unarmed civilians and seizing hostages.
Although no Americans are known to have died, Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed Saturday that one of those killed was the wife of a foreign national working for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
