SHOOTING SPREE

The standoff continues into the evening, hours after the shootout between police officers and the armed men in the mall began in the morning.

Authorities have already moved in elite troops with the backing of armored vehicles to reinforce the police force surrounding the shopping mall, which is frequented by wealthy Kenyans and foreigners. The mall consists of five floors and more than 80 shops as well as a Nakumatt supermarket which is occupied by masked gunmen, according to police.

Witnesses said they thought it was a robbery after they heard of explosion and gunshots. Mutea Iringo, the principal secretary in the ministry, said it was an terror attack rather than a robbery. After the attack, the Google Kenya has also been hacked.

A witness who did not give the name told Xinhua that he heard explosion and saw masked gunmen shooting before he hid in a men's room. He said the gunmen were speaking the language that he did not understand.

Another anonymous witness said the gunmen shot dead the security guards and then opened fire shop by shop.

The group of gunmen entered the mall at around 10:30 a.m. local time. However, they did not say anything conclusive about their demands.

A hostage freshly released by the captors reported machine-gun shooting at crowds of shoppers and many bodies on the ground after the killing spree.

Workers at the shopping mall said the hooded gunmen numbering around 10 attacked the building from the second floor of the shopping mall, where there was a media event. Some gunmen were seen armed with sophisticated weapons and shooting indiscriminately, while ordering people to lie on the ground.

"I heard an explosion followed by heavy shootout. I and my colleague tried to hide and then after some time, she escaped through the fire exist," Vivian Atieno, who works as a sales lady at mall, told Xinhua.

She said there were still more casualties trapped inside the building.

"Some of the workers and shoppers who attempted to escape were shot at and died instantly. Those injured were attempting to jump from the second to the first and then exit area but they could not manage," said David Muthee, who escaped from the mall.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

According to the US Embassy in Nairobi, US citizens were among the injured. "We have reports of American citizens injured in the attack, and the US Embassy is actively reaching out to provide assistance."

"We condemn this senseless act of violence that has resulted in death and injury for many innocent men, women, and children. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of all victims," said a statement issued by the US embassy.

The international community expressed concerned with the situation after attack and has been in constant touch with the Kenyan government. A statement from New York said the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "is following closely and with alarm the attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi."

The statement said Ban has spoken to President Uhuru Kenyatta and expressed his concern as well as offered his solidarity as the Kenyan authorities handle the incident.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also expressed concern over the attack, saying in a statement that he was "appalled by the attack." He said he was in close touch with Kenyan authorities about the attack in Nairobi, noting that his urgent priority is the welfare of British nationals in Kenya.

Unconfirmed reports said a suspect involved in the attack has been escorted to hospital by police in an operation carried out by a contingent of police officers who have surrounded the mall.