<p><br /> Kenyan troops are "in control" of Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall, the Kenyan interior ministry announced overnight, with all the hostages trapped by Islamist gunmen believed to have been freed.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A government spokesman said last night that the three-day-long siege, in which the attackers massacred at least 62 shoppers and staff, was close to being declared over.<br /><br />He said special forces combing the building were no longer encountering any resistance.<br /><br />"Our special forces are inside the building checking the rooms. We think that everyone, the hostages, have been evacuated, but we don't want to take any chances," Manoah Esipisu said.<br /><br />"The special forces call this sanitising. At the moment they have not met any resistance, but of course we are not ruling out the possibility that there are a couple of them hiding in a remote room or corner," he added.<br /><br />After a day of fierce gunfire, huge explosions and black smoke that billowed over the Kenyan capital, the vast centre was quiet 60 hours after the gunmen stormed the complex.<br /><br />"We're in control of Westgate," the interior ministry said in a message on Twitter.<br />No details on the numbers of hostages released have been given, but 63 people were earlier recorded missing by the Red Cross, a figure thought to include hostages as well as those possibly killed.<br /><br />Almost 200 were wounded in the attack, and at least 11 Kenyan troops were wounded in intense gun battles yesterday, the army said.<br /><br />Special forces yesterday also killed at least three gunmen and wounded several in bitter fighting in the part Israeli-owned complex, which was popular with wealthy Kenyans and expatriates. A Kenyan security source and a Western intelligence official said Israeli forces were also involved in operations, along with British and US agents.<br /><br />Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents have claimed the attack, which began midday on Saturday, when the gunmen marched into the complex, firing grenades and automatic weapons and sending panicked shoppers fleeing.<br /><br />Kenyan army chief Julius Karangi said the gunmen were of different nationalities. Many foreign fighters, including Somalis with dual nationalities, are members of the Shebab force.<br /><br />"They are from different countries. We have sufficient intelligence this is global terrorism," Karangi said.<br /><br />Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku denied that any of the insurgents were women: "All the terrorists are men," he said, noting: "Some of them had dressed like women."<br />Police said they had also arrested more than 10 people for questioning.<br /><br />Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose nephew was killed along with his fiancee, called the attack "despicable and beastly."</p>
<p><br /> Kenyan troops are "in control" of Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall, the Kenyan interior ministry announced overnight, with all the hostages trapped by Islamist gunmen believed to have been freed.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A government spokesman said last night that the three-day-long siege, in which the attackers massacred at least 62 shoppers and staff, was close to being declared over.<br /><br />He said special forces combing the building were no longer encountering any resistance.<br /><br />"Our special forces are inside the building checking the rooms. We think that everyone, the hostages, have been evacuated, but we don't want to take any chances," Manoah Esipisu said.<br /><br />"The special forces call this sanitising. At the moment they have not met any resistance, but of course we are not ruling out the possibility that there are a couple of them hiding in a remote room or corner," he added.<br /><br />After a day of fierce gunfire, huge explosions and black smoke that billowed over the Kenyan capital, the vast centre was quiet 60 hours after the gunmen stormed the complex.<br /><br />"We're in control of Westgate," the interior ministry said in a message on Twitter.<br />No details on the numbers of hostages released have been given, but 63 people were earlier recorded missing by the Red Cross, a figure thought to include hostages as well as those possibly killed.<br /><br />Almost 200 were wounded in the attack, and at least 11 Kenyan troops were wounded in intense gun battles yesterday, the army said.<br /><br />Special forces yesterday also killed at least three gunmen and wounded several in bitter fighting in the part Israeli-owned complex, which was popular with wealthy Kenyans and expatriates. A Kenyan security source and a Western intelligence official said Israeli forces were also involved in operations, along with British and US agents.<br /><br />Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents have claimed the attack, which began midday on Saturday, when the gunmen marched into the complex, firing grenades and automatic weapons and sending panicked shoppers fleeing.<br /><br />Kenyan army chief Julius Karangi said the gunmen were of different nationalities. Many foreign fighters, including Somalis with dual nationalities, are members of the Shebab force.<br /><br />"They are from different countries. We have sufficient intelligence this is global terrorism," Karangi said.<br /><br />Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku denied that any of the insurgents were women: "All the terrorists are men," he said, noting: "Some of them had dressed like women."<br />Police said they had also arrested more than 10 people for questioning.<br /><br />Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose nephew was killed along with his fiancee, called the attack "despicable and beastly."</p>