Kenya says besieged mall under control; all hostages freed

September 24, 2013 08:43

Kenya's interior ministry has announced that troops are "in control" of the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, with all the hostages believed to have been freed after a deadly siege that killed at least 62 people.

A government spokesman told AFP news agency that the three-day-long siege was close to being declared over. He said special forces combing the building were no longer encountering any resistance.

"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, a government spokesman, said. "We're in control of Westgate," the interior ministry said in a message on Twitter.

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