Troops battle to free remaining hostages in Nairobi mall

Kenyan troops were locked in a fierce firefight with Somali militants inside an upmarket Nairobi shopping mall today, in a final push to end a siege that has left 43 dead, including two Indians, and 200 wounded with an unknown number of hostages still being held.

Heavy gunfire could be heard as Kenyan security officials said they were attempting to kill or capture the remaining attackers and end the nearly 24-hour-long bloodbath at the Westgate mall.

Somalia's Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels said the carnage at the part Israeli-owned complex was in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address to the nation late yesterday that he had "personally lost family members in the Westgate attack".

"Let me make it clear. We shall hunt down the perpetrators wherever they run to. We shall get them. We shall punish them for this heinous crime," he vowed.

Two Indians and a South Korean were among the dead. Paris confirmed that two French citizens were among those killed in what it condemned as a "cowardly" attack. Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said two Canadians, one of them a diplomat, were among the dead, while official Chinese news agency Xinhua said one Chinese woman was killed.

The Westgate mall is popular with wealthy Kenyans and expatriates, and was packed with around 1,000 shoppers when the gunmen marched in at midday yesterday, tossed grenades and sprayed automatic gunfire on terrified people.

Security agencies have long feared that the shopping centre could be targeted by Al Qaeda-linked groups.

The attack was the worst in Nairobi since an Al-Qaeda bombing at the US embassy killed more than 200 in 1998.

After a day and night of sometimes ferocious gun battles, security sources said police and soldiers had finally "pinned down" the gunmen. The Kenyan Red Cross appealed for blood donations and authorities urged residents to steer clear of the area.

"We are still battling with the attackers and our forces have managed to maroon the attackers on one of the floors," said Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna.

"We still do not know the number of hostages nor the attackers but we hope to bring this to an end today," he said.

"The gunmen tried to fire at my head but missed. I saw at least 50 people shot," mall employee Sudjar Singh said.